September 17
by Phantomess785
Summary: What happens when Erik's bed is discovered in 2005 and given to a teenager who has no idea of its value? What happens when she realizes too late that it's a portal to Erik's lair and that she's trapped in 1871? A helluva lotta fun stuff, that's what. R&R.
1. Irony

**Hello, everyone! Presuming, of course, that anyone is actually reading this (in which case I'm much obliged). ...Oh god, I had an actual formal moment right there. -Deep Breath- Alrighty then. Not much to say except that this is the very-delayed start of September 17. Sorry to everyone (if anyone) who was waiting for this- it took me far too long to finally post, and here it is!**

**And just to let y'all know, this beginning is going to be a bit rough, but I promise (cross my heart and all that jazz) that it'll get better. So please stick with it! Pretty please with a cherry _and_ Erik on top?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO, peoples!

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****"September 17, 1871." **A date that, for all of us, is history. A date that, for some long ago, was the present. A date that, for one girl alone, would be both.

_"Masquerade_

_Paper faces on parade_

_Masquerade_

_Hide your face so the world will never find you..." _Erik sang softly to the tune of the music box in front of him. For the briefest moment, all of his sadness disappeared, but it returned in full when he saw the figure of his beloved Christine out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and gazed at her, unshed tears blurring his vision slightly.

_"Christine, I love you," _he sang, barely able to keep fom crying a second longer. His beloved said nothing, but strode up to him and took his hand. As Erik watched tearfully, Christine placed the small gold ring he had given her in his palm and curled his fingers around it. Instead of leaving, though, as Erik thought she would, she began to speak.

"I can't marry you, Angel," she breathed. Erik sighed pitifully, knowing that it would have been better if she had just left after all, but Christine reached down and gently tilted his face toward her.

"I can't marry you... because you haven't properly proposed," she finished. Erik looked at her incredulously, and she gave him the tiniest hint of a smile. "So... would you like to correct that?"

_More than anything, _Erik thought with desperation, but he couldn't manage to tell her that. After what seemed like forever, he swallowed with apparent effort and nodded, aware of how pitiful he must have looked.

Christine stared at him expectantly, and he realized that it was one of those "now or never" situations. He quickly pulled together his nerve and cleared his throat.

_Is she really going to give me one more chance? Or is she just trying to have one last stab at the last scraps of my dignity and existence? _Erik glanced at Christine's beautiful features, but nothing about her told him anything.

"Will you..." His voice faltered momentarily, but he forced himself with all of his willpower to keep talking. "I mean... Christine, will you please... marry me?"

Her face was still expressionless as he spoke, and it didn't change when he was done. Erik was about to ask again when her lips finally parted, and he knew that she was going to answer him.

Suddenly Erik's eyes shot open as he was roughly brought back to reality. He groaned and realized that he was lying on the floor, his body tangled in the velvet blankets of his bed. With another groan he sat up and threw the covers off him, cursing himself for waking up when he did. If only he had been able to sleep for one more minute...

"Oh, Christine," he whispered, his voice layered with longing and hurt. Erik stood and tossed the blankets onto his bed, thought for a second, then begant o fix them neatly. he knew that it was only a way to use up time for himself, but he didn't care.

It had been a month since Christine had left him. A month of nothing but silence and depression. Erik hadn't been able to play any type of music at all, or do anything alse he had ever enjoyed doing that was somehow connected to his beloved. He only ate once a day (if that), an was sorely lagging behind on all housework that he knew he should be doing.

_What a mess, _he thought to himself as he surveyed his home. The mob that had been down there a month ago had done their share of disorganizing almost everything in the room, but Erik had made no attempt to clean or fix anything. In fact, he only added to the disorder.

All of the sudden, Erik felt a strong, uncontrollable impulse to restore his home. He had no idea why, but it was as if his greatest desire was to see his house the way it had been. Before... before Christine had left him.

_Anything, _Erik decided, _I'll do anything if it will make my life go by faster. _His mind made up, he walked into the midst of the room and began to set things right, wondering what he was really doing all the while. Strangely enough, he almost felt like he wasn't going to be alone anymore...

* * *

"Dani, hushit," a teenage girl murmured, using one of her favorite made-up words. She searched throught her purse and finally located her cell phone. She tossed a strand of her dark brown hair over her shoulder and pressed the "Talk" button.

"Hello, this is Alyssa," the girl greeted, putting the phone to one ear and covering the other one to block out the music of the radio in the background.

"Alyssa, darling, it's your mom. Grandmother's nearly having a heart attack over here at your lateness. She's sent her driver to pick you up, since you obviously can't tell time," the voice on the other end spoke. Alyssa groaned.

"Alright, mother... Yes, I understand... I know... I'm _sorry,_ mother... Alright. Tell Grandmother I apologize... I love you, too, mother. Goodbye." Alyssa hung up the phone and turned to her friend.

"I'm sorry, Danielle. My grandmother's very, very strict when it comes to being on time. ...Actually, she's strict about everything!"

Danielle nodded. "So... why are you living with her again?"

"Since we moved and don't have a house yet, she offered to let us stay there. We've been there for a couple ofdays now, and I _hate _it. She's so formal about _everything! _...But I shouldn't complain. She's my grandma... grandmother. Anyway, today I'm finally getting my own room there. Before I had to stay with my brother while Grandmother got some remodeling done," Alyssa mumbled sullenly. She sighed ut smiled again in a second.

"Anywhoo, thanks for letting me stay over. Grandmother sent over the driver, so I got one hell of a ride back... I guess." Danielle laughed, and Alyssa stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. She waved to her friend ("Tell your parents I said thank you and goodbye!"), then opened the door and let herself out.

The elegant car of her grandmother's was not a welcomesight to Alyssa's eyes, blut she nevertheless kept her feelings to herself as the driver opened the back door for her. She merely smiled and slid into the leather seat. At one nod from her, the chauffer got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

With one last long, listful look at her friend's house, they drove away. How Alyssa missed those days when her family had been like that! Ever since she, her mother, and her brother had moved, life had been all elegance and manners and etiquette. That stuff in itself wasn't too bad, but she was a teenager! She needed rock music and hanging out with friends, not tea parties with cute little tarts and such!

Alyssa sighed as the car entered the long driveway of her grnadmother's, but she nevertheless grinned as her mother came through the huge wooden doors. After thanking the driver, Alyssa returned her mother's embrace and walked into the enormous house.

"Alyssa! Why are you late? proper young ladies must be prompt, as I've told you before!" Alyssa turned and saw her grandmother striding toward her, dressed up as usual.

_Why must she be so old-fashioned? _Alyssa wondered, but she merely apologized for her "bad manners" and listened to her grandmother's lecture about how young ladies were never to be late, not even by a second.

"...Well, I suppose we should be thankful that you are only late for one supper, and not for another appointment. I mean, your crime is offensive as it is, but for a party or a lunch meeting...!" The old woman put a hand to her heart dramatically, and Alyssa had to bit her lips to stifle a laugh that threatened to explode as she nodded.

"Oh, and don't bite your lip, Alyssa, for goodness sake," her grnadmother snapped. "It's very unladylike. ...Now, would you care to see your new room? It was finished only an hour ago, and it looks magnificent!"

"Yes, please, grandmother." _And why can't I just call her Grandma like everyone else can call their grandmothers? _Alyssa smiled again despite her bitter thoughts, and the old woman turned smartly and headed up the staircase behind her. It took a couple seconds, but at last Alyssa realized that she was supposed to follow and scampered up the steps.

Up the flight of stairs there was the longest hallways the teenager had seen in her whoel life (that wasn't on TV, of course), and Ayssa made a mental note to remember which room was hers. It was easy to get lost in the giant house.

"All right, Alyssa. Here we are," her grandmother spoke at last. Alyssa took a deep breath, then opened the door beside her and topok her first look at her new room.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. The walls were painted a simple white, and a plush maroon carpet (a perfect match with the walls) covered the floor. The furniture looked like it had cost a fortune, especially the bed.

It was the bed that was most intriguing to Alyssa. She tilted her head just a bit like she usually did when she was deep in thought and stared at it for a few seconds.

The reason it amazed her was because, for some reason, the frame was an antique-looking gold color... and shaped to resemble an intricate bird.

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**HaHa so there it is, I know it sucks, flame if you must, but if you are patient (which I hope you are) then please bear with me for a couple chappis, I swear it'll get better!**

**Oh, and a big "Thank You!" Dani, Cassy, Andrea, and Chelly for your help! You all rock!**


	2. Miracle

**A great big hug and a thank you to everyone who reviewed! A quick death to anyone who didnt... and I'll find out who you are. Nah, I'm just kidding. Luv ya whether you reviewed or not. You're all awesome! I'll do individual thank yous on my xanga homepage, which you can find in my profile. Thank you and enjoy the chappy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO, get it? I also don't own Black Beauty. Only Alyssa, her grandmother, her mother, Dani (...Well, no, I guess my friend kinda owns her), and her little brother.

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**

"Nick, it's a _bird,_" Ally corrected with a groan, gently shoving her younger brother. "My bed is shaped like a bird. B-I-R-D." Nick laughed and gave her small push as well, and Alyssa giggled and affectionately ruffled his hair. It was moments like this that she loved, when she could just be herself, say whatever she wanted, and simply mess around with the people she loved, but the pair were forced to quiet down as they neared the dining hall.

The doors opened with the barest creaking sound (which was impressive considering their size), and both Alyssa and Nick took their seats opposite each other at the table. They were joined by their mother and grandmother within a minute, and before long everyone was busy eating.

"Mommy, did you see 'Lyssa's bed?" Nick asked incredulously a few minutes later, his words thick with mashed potatoes. His mother smiled and was about to answer when his grandmother interrupted.

"Nicholas, what have I told you countless times before? Swallow your food, then speak!" scolded the old woman. "And your sister's name is "Alyssa." I thought you would have realized that by now."

Unnoticed by anyone, Alyssa clenched her fist underneath the table. She abhorred the way her grandmother said her name. Her brother's way (to her, at least) was much more preferable. She would rather hear "'Lyssa" any day. The way her grandmother said it made it sound like "Alissia" with a really bad fake accent.

"Mother I was actually curious about Alyssa's bed. Where did you get it?" Alyssa could tell that her mother was trying to divert her grandmother's attention from Nick.

A smile graced the old woman's face. "Oh isn't it a lovely piece of furniture? I got it from your brother, Katherine. He gave it to me -Oh, it was years ago. When I first moved here, actually. It's over one hundred years old. Pity I never had any decor that matched it -before Alyssa's room, I mean- so I was forced to put it in storage before I could use it. I decided finally that such a beautiful antique deserved to be where people could see it, so I put it in Alyssa's room. Such a lovely antique." Alyssa gave her grandmother a fake grin, feeling her stomach twist slightly. Her bed was a hundred years old? Who the hell knew who could have slept in it?

Alyssa's mother smiled as well. "Yes, it is very pretty." There was a long pause as everyone continued eating, and the only sounds were the soft clatters of knives and forks.

As usual, Alyssa was the first one finished. "May I please be excused?" she asked, looking to her mother for the answer. After she got the expected nod, she politely thanked her grandmother and walked out into the hallway. She had to stifle a yawn as she strode toward her room, and found herself actually anticipating going to sleep, which was rare.

Once she was in her new room, Alyssa quickly undressed. It was a rather hot night, so she threw aside the sweatpants that she usually wore to bed. As she searched through the drawers in one of her dressers, she came upon a small, light pink nightgown in one of them.

_Well, it would be a different experience, _Alyssa thought as she pulled the nightgown over her head. It was a bit thin, and didn't even cover her knees, but it was deliciously cool, and she decided to wear it. She turned out the lights and slid into bed. Slowly she pulled the covers up to her shoulder, then reached over and grabbed the book she always read before falling asleep and fetched the small flashlight from beside it.

_"'It _must _be Black Beauty! Why, Beauty! Beauty! do you know me! little Joe Green, that almost killed you?" _Alyssa read, and even then her eyelids became almost unbearably heavily. Reluctantly she shut the book and placed it back where it had been. Her eyes slid shut as she sighed and let sleep claim her.

* * *

Erik used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. He had been cleaning endlessly all day, and now, though he still had a way to go, his progress was at last noticeable.

He was just picking up some of his compositions that had fallen on the floor when something glittered on the ground next to them. Curious, Erik reached down and grabbed it between his fingers; he immediately regretted doing so when he recognized what it was. It was the small silver ring he'd gotten Christine.

Before he could do anything about it, a solitary tear dripped from his left eye. Erik instantly went into a silent rage, and he drew his arm back as though to throw the ring into the water. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time. Instead, he began to break down and started to cry, holding the ring tightly in his fist.

"Why, God? Why must you torture me so? Only once in my life have I ever gotten what I wanted, and even now the memory of the kiss haunts me. But you know what I _really _want. I want someone who could truly love me for who I am, despite the horrible face that you cursed me with. Why is that seemingly so much to ask for? _I just want one person to love me!_"

Then suddenly, as fate would have it, something miraculous began to happen. If someone -say, Alyssa's mother- was to have opened the door to Alyssa's room, sat beside her body on the bed, and studied her figure closely, then would have noticed a very strange thing. The body seemed to be... _fading_ from the bed. And if Erik had bothered to check the bed in his room, he may have realized that the ghostly outline of a body was slowly appearing on it...

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**Wow... looking over that chappy, I see that it was really, really short. Sorry about that, ya'll. I'll give you a really, really quick update to make up for it, eh? What say you? (Aragorn moment there, sorry). Anyway, indivudual thank yous on my homepage, and... oh yeah. Review, please!**


	3. Shock

**And we're up to Chapter 3... wow, I still have a long way to go. Anyway, a million thanx to all you amazing reviewers! This is the chappy where Alyssa finds herself in Erik's lair... hmmm... well, let's not keep you waiting. On with the chapter...**

**Oh, and thanx to my betas: _Belacani On The Rez_, ****_xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx_****, and, I'm happy to say, my friend Dani who has finally gotten a fanfiction name (she probably won't post anything, though), _myshorty_!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own PotO... I'll let you know when I do, okay? Talk to you in the next million years when they invent real time travel!

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Alyssa groaned in her sleep and groped blindly below her feet for a blanket. Her fingers lightly brushed one, and she pulled it over her head. The was when she noticed something rather odd. The blanket was velvet... and there hadn't been any velvet covers when she'd fallen asleep.

"What the...?" She sat up and opened her eyes. It took a second for them to adjust, but when they did, she almost wished they hadn't.

She wasn''t in her room anymore. In fact, Alyssa had a feeling she wasn't even in her grandmother's house anymore. It looked like she was underground, in some sort of cave or something. Looking around, she saw that it was actually very finely decorated, in a way that she knew her grandmother would appreciate. She may have even thought it to be pretty, is she wasn't in her apprent situation.

Striving to be as silent as possible, Alyssa slid out of the bed, and she realized with a shock that it was _her _bed! It looked much newer, but other than that was completely identical.

_What the hell? Are bird beds like in style now or something? _Now utterly confused, Alyssa crept to the cave-like entrance to the room and cautiously peeked out. There was another room beyond it, lit by hundreds of gold candles. She turned her head slightly and almost jumped in surprise.

There was a man moving around the room, seemingly cleaning up. Alyssa realized suddenly with a sickening fear that she must have been... _kidnapped_, and that that man must have been the one who had taken her.

_Oh... my... god. Oh my god. Oh my god! _Alyssa ducked behind the wall as the man turned. Panic tore at her heart, but she was determind to not lose her head; she knew that she had to escape and only could if she kept herself calm.

_I have to hide. _She searched the room, and saw a rich wooden door in the wall. Alyssa walked over to the door and quietly opened it, but was disappointed to find nothing but a small, elegant bathroom with no place to hide.

Desperate by now, she saw that there was a small space between a dresser that was standing by the door and the wall, one that she might be able to squeeze into. Alyssa knelt down and eased her body into the crevise, then sat there to wait for a chance to escape.

* * *

Erik sighed once, then knelt down to pick up a candleabra that had been knocked over. His knees felt greatly relieved as he bent them, and he could suddenly feel the exhaustion in his legs and arms. He reluctantly decided that he would clean up only what he'd already started on, and then he would go to sleep.

It was about an hour befor he considered hismelf finished, but at last he straightened up with only one thought in mind: of getting into bed.

He walked up the few steps and into his room, where he began to take off a couple outer layers of clothing. When he was clad in only a thin shirt and pants, Erik prepared for sleep. He lay for a few comfortable minutes in darkness before losing consciousness.

* * *

Alyssa waited for one long hour to pass after she heard Erik's breathing become even before crawling out of her hiding place.

_Funny... he didn't even wonder where I was. What kind of freak kidnapper is this? _She dismissed the thought and concentrated instead on carefully stepping where her feet would make not a sound. It took longer than she thought, but she made it out of the room without waking Erik.

Now that Alyssa had time, she got a good look around the main room. Many of the candles had gone out, but a few remained glowing. Alyssa turned her head and was shocked to see that water covered about half of the ground floor. It really was a cave!

Swiftly Alyssa decided to brave the water. She glanced back at Erik's room once before stepping forward.

The liquid was so icy that Alyssa's very bones seemed to ache after only a couple seconds in the water. No matter how hard she tried to trudge on, she found that she couldn't. She couldn't escape by water.

Frusterated, Alyssa turned quickly around, and in the process she accidentaly knocked over the same candleabra that Erik had set right only hours before. The clatter was louder than she could have ever expected, and she cringed.

* * *

Erik awakened instantly, and he stood up from the bed almost faster than the eye could blink. He didn't even bother to get more thoroughly dressed, but hurried out of his room. He stopped short just before entering Alyssa's sight and looked around the corner of his room.

_What the hell? _Erik blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, and to make sure that he was truly seeing what he thought he was, and still he couldn't believe it. There was... a young _girl_ in his home! And not only that, but the girl had naught but a _nightgown _covering her (rather slender and lovely, as Erik would soon notice) body.

Slowly and silently, Erik sneaked toward Alyssa. His eyes were focused on her intently, as though he was trying to figure out whather she was an image of his imagination or not.

Suddenly Erik realized that she was real, because he could hear the faint sound of her breath. The shock that that gave him nearly knocked the breath out of his own lungs.

Alyssa felt her neck prickling slightly, and she instinctively turned around. She gasped at the sight of Erik, but had no time to scream before her mind froze and she fell over in a dead faint. Erik caught her a second before she hit the ground. Confused, he picked up her small frame and carried it back to his room. After he set her on the bed, he sat down in an armchair to try and sort out his thoughts.

It looked like he wasn't going to get the sleep that he wanted after all.

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**Haha so there ya'll go. Another cliffy... hehe, I'm evil. But that's okay. You know why? Because I have Health Insurance! Oh yeah! And I'm eating dried pinapple with sugar... yum. Mmmm... And usually I don't like pinapple, but this dried sweetened stuff... yum! You guys gotta try this!**

**Anyway, review, Please! I'll post thank-yous on my website, which you can find in my profile. Thankies!**


	4. Misunderstanding

**Here we are at Chapter 4! I haven't gotten a chance yet to do more Reviewer Thank-yous, but I will soon. It was either Thank-yous or this chapter, and I thought you guys might want to know what happens next. But you guys are awesome! Thank you all reviewers for your support! You're so cool! I'll try to get to Thank-yous today if I can.**

**Also, thank you to my betas! _myshorty, xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx, Belacani On The Rez_**

**Disclaimer: Must we do this again? Fine. At the risk of being sued, I don't own PotO. I do, however, own my undying love for Erik that will conquer all! LOL... couldn't resist.**

**WARNING: This chapter will contain some harsh language. Not horrible, but not for people who aren't used to cursing. Be warned.

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Erik stared at Alyssa's body on the bed, and found himself wondering yet again how it had gotten there. Had she somehow gotten lost? Was she just another chorus girl in the opera house?

_No, the opera house is still deserted, _Erik thought, and that made him even more confused. _What am I going to do with her? Should I simply... let her go? _He sighed, then suddenly realized that he couldn't do that. _No, I can't. This girl knows how to get into my lair. If I let her go, then she could tell someone else how to get here._

Alyssa's eyes slowly opened, and she half-expected to be back in her room. To her, everything that had happened underneath the opera house had all been but a dream. ...She was surprised to find that, if it was a dream, then she still had not woken up.

"Mademoiselle," Erik breathed. Alyssa turned sharply to face him and gasped again. She pulled the velvet blankets over her body in an attempt to cover herself.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked fearfully. Erik was taken aback by the question. Who in all of Paris hadn't heard of him?

"I am... the Opera Ghost," he replied, deciding to keep his true identity a secret right then.

Alyssa blinked a few times. "What the hell?" She knew that it was most likely a bad idea to anger her "kidnapper," but his name was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

Her response took Erik by surprise again. He was sure that there were still Wanted posters put up all over the city requesting information about him. How could this girl not know who he was?

"Mademoiselle, are you all right?" he questioned, thinking that it might be useful to be nice to her.

"Oh shit no!" Alyssa yelled, and Erik let out a breath. So much for that plan.

Alyssa decided right then and there that, if she was going to go down, it wouldn't be without a fight. "You god-damn freakin' kidnapped me! Hell no am I okay!" She wasn't sure where all of her courage was coming from, but suspected that it was from the way Erik looked. "So tell me, did you kidnap me for some kind of ransom? Or are you just a sick pervert?" Alyssa was pretending to be mockingly interested."Oh, and before I forget, how the hell did you get my bed down here, too?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Mmhmm, _sure. _Some magic fairy just poofed me down here, huh?"

Erik stood up and left the room. Alyssa obviously wasn't listening, and he was in no mood to take her yelling at him. He walked over to another chair and sat down again.

Alyssa hurried and got out of bed. She grabbed the topmost blanket from the bed and wrapped it around herself. Once she was sure that all of the parts of her body that could be considered suggestive were covered, she strode confidently into the main room.

"Seriously, though," she continued, "how _did_ you get my bed down here? I must admit, Mr. "Opera Ghost," that that was pretty impressive. And I'm sure I was drugged so that I wouldn't wake up?"

Now Erik was beginning to get irritated. "I told you once already, mademoiselle, that I have no idea what you are talking about. You were the one suddenly appearing in my home, wearing nothing but a rather revealing nightgown."

"Oh, bullshit!"

Sighing in frustration, Erik slumped back into his seat. "Well, if I did, as you say, kidnap you, then I would imagine that annoying me would not be the most sensible thing to do."

"Well, this is the way I think of it," Alyssa explained coldly. "I have about a fifty percent chance of living for a while at this point. Maybe more, maybe less. I don't know you that well. I doubt, though, if you'll be letting me go. But you just might if I bug the hell out of you. Of course, you might also just kill me, but there's a possibility that you might have guilt trip just in time. That's what I'm banking on. Risky, but hey. I feel daring at the moment."

"Interesting plan," Erik remarked, his voice layered with sarcasm.

Alyssa shrugged, holding the blanket tightly still. "Hey, I _am_ a teenager." It actually surprised her, how easy it was to be calm in front of Erik. True, she hated him, but it wasn't difficult at all to act like the superior one out of the two of them. It was as though he simply let her take the lead.

Erik stared at her, and she in turn glared right back. Neither blinked for a long time, until at last Erik's eyes became too dry for him to stand.

"Ha ha. I win," Alyssa murmured.

"What the hell are you talking about _now_?" Erik asked, kneading his eyes to try and make them feel better.

Only after Alyssa scoffed did he get an answer. "Oh, don't act like you don't know, dammit. It takes all the fun out of me winning." Alyssa looked around and spotted his organ. She gave him an amusingly sinister glance and walked over to it. A booklet bound in leather caught her eye, and she grabbed it. Flipping the book open and skimming over a few pages, she came to the middle and began to read.

"'_You will have to pay the bill tangled in the winding sheets'_?" she read. "Damn, I _knew_ you were a pervert!" She gave a fake laugh, but inside Alyssa was terrified. She had hoped that she was being held for ransom or something, no because her captor was a pervert.

Suddenly an evil idea emerged in her mind. She gave a conniving smile, and slowly but casually walked over to a small group of candles that had not gone out.

"Say, Ghost-man, what do you think you'd do if I just happened to..." She let her voice trail off and held the manuscript dangerously close to the flames. Erik's eyes opened slightly in horror, but he struggled to regain his composure.

"It's almost too horrible to say aloud," he replied to buy himself time.

"Try me." Alyssa was testing him, trying to call his bluff.

After a few more seconds of staring, Erik sighed. "Mademoiselle, I don't want to hurt you. Just put down my composition. I honestly do not want to hurt you. I don't. I have better things to do."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Sure, Ghost-man. Sure you don't want to hurt me." But she glared at his eyes, and realized that he truly didn't seem to want to hurt her. Against her better judgment, she put down the book.

"What day is it, anyway?" she asked. "Just curious. I could have been out for days on whatever drug you gave me."

"September the seventeenth, 1871," Erik answered. "You weren't out for _years, _at least."

Alyssa narrowed her eyes to slits. "Yeah freakin' right. You bastard. I can't believe you would even try something like that. I mean, _seriously!_" She looked at him with a hard gaze. "And what the hell is with that mask? It's starting to piss me off. Just take it off already." She reached forward as though to snatch it.

Now she had crossed the line. Erik stood up and strode toward her, then grabbed her chin and held it firmly, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"Mademoiselle," he growled, "if you ever, _ever_ mention or come near my mask again, then I _will _hurt you. I don't want to, but I swear to you that I will. I'll hurt you so badly you'll wish you'd never set _eyes_ upon my mask. Am I making myself clear?" Alyssa nodded fearfully, and Erik let her go.

He sighed and cracked his neck. "Perhaps we should go to bed," he murmured, and Alyssa's eyes widened in fear. He indicated a chaise lounge off to the side of the room. "Don't worry," he snarled, his voice rough, "I'll sleep out here. Is that all right with you, _mademoiselle_?" His tone was almost sarcastic as he regarded her.

"Yes," Alyssa muttered. She didn't feel so superior anymore, but now rather frightened. Erik gestured for her to go to bed, and she complied without a word of complaint.

It felt great for both Alyssa and Erik to lay down, and they were soon both asleep despite the events of the day.

* * *

Early in the morning Alyssa awoke. She sat up quickly and got out of bed, again trying to make as little noise as possible. She was going to take another shot at escaping. 

_I need to get out of this crazy mask-wearing pervert's house _now! she thought, and she slipped cat-like into the main room. It was pitch black in there, but she didn't dare to light a candle. She didn't know where Erik kept his matches, anyway, so she couldn't have.

Blindly feeling her way around in the dark, Alyssa had to try hard to keep from doing anything too loudly or too carelessly. She accidentallykicked somethingon the rough ground, and a stabbing pain shot through her leg. Alyssa bit her lip to suppress the cry of pain that threatened to slip through her lips. She held her foot in one hand and could feel it throbbing.

Since her concentration was only on the pain she felt, it came as a complete surprise for Alyssa when she lost her balance and fell over, all in one confusing second. She landed on something rather soft and warm, but unfortunately it gave a stifled cry.

"What the hell?" Erik tried to sit up, but was shocked to find that he couldn't because Alyssa was sprawled across his torso. She swiftly stood up, and Erik felt an unexpected sensation play throughout his body as she placed a hand on his bare chest so she could get up.

"Mademoiselle, what on earth are you doing?" he asked. He groped in the darkness for a candle, and lit the first one he found. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he focused them on a very stunned-looking Alyssa.

Alyssa couldn't seem to get the words out. "Uh... well, I..."

"As I see it, you were either trying to escape, mademoiselle, or... quite frankly, let's just say you were feeling rather... _active_. Am I right?"

As hard as she tried, Alyssa could not stop herself from scoffing at him. "Quite _active? _Don't you dare put me on your level, damn pervert. How could you even-"

"Mademoiselle, you call me the..." Erik paused and swallowed, trying to make it seem more casual then it was. "sexually active one, yet you are the person I find lying on my chest in the early hours of the morning. Tell me, what does that say about you?"

Quickly Alyssa defended herself. "I was trying to get out, dammit! Why the hell would I even _consider _sleeping with you?"

Erik sighed once and ran a hand through his hair. "I would not know why, mademoiselle. I'm not the one who sneaks around people's beds in the night." Before Alyssa could interrupt, he continued. "And I'm sad to say that I can't allow you to escape. Like you told me you thought before, I won't let you go."

"Because it would be a waste of all the effort you put in to kidnap me, right? You won't let me go because you want to have your way with me first, is that it?"

"Would you kindly stop implying that I want to... rape you, mademoiselle? I'm getting tired of hearing it," Erik murmured, doing his best to sound bored. "If I truly wanted to rape you, then believe me when I say that I would have surely done it already. And if you try to escape again, I'm afraid I'll have to bind you to a chair."

Alyssa glared at him. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"Or a warning, whichever you prefer. Personally, I would like to call it a promise. Now, if you would go back to bed, I would be much obliged."

Surprisingly, Alyssa did what he said without a single word. In her mind, though he didn't suspect it, she was already formulating a plan. _I _will _escape, _she thought._ I'll just have to try again another night.

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**Hope ya'll enjoyed! Review, please! I gotta go eat breakfast, but I'll try to put up Thank-yous after word in my wesite, which you'll find in my profile page!**


	5. Battle

**Oh my god I haven't updated in forever! Ahh! So sorry, people! Oh, I feel so bad! ...And tired, now that I think of it, but that's not important. I've just been so busy, and my bro's been hogging up the comp, and I kept forgetting whether I'd gotten this chappy beta-d, and just everything... but it'll be faster next time, I promise! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Alrighty, peoples. Let's review this again. I... (repeat: I) ...do... (repeat: do) ...not... (repeat: not) ...own... (repeat: own) ...Phantom of the Opera... (repeat: ... ... ... Oh, to hell with it. I think ya'll get it.)

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"Mademoiselle, wake up," Erik whispered. Alyssa merely groaned and pulled the covers higher over her body, mumbling something along the lines of, "_No, mom... Five more minutes... I won't miss the bus..." _Erik rolled his eyes, then reached out and roughly shook her shoulder.

With a small cry of suprise, Alyssa snapped up, her head nearly colliding with Erik's. She gave him a suspiciously curios look, and he straightened up.

"What?" she asked irritably. She suddenly realized that one of the straps of her nightgown was hanging off her shoulder (something that Erik had already noticed), and she quickly pulled it up.

"Breakfast is ready. If you're hungry, then I suggest you eat now, because I won't be making anything else for a while," the answer came. Alyssa turned her gaze down, then shakily aimed her eyes back at Erik's.

Her voice threatened to break, but she managed to sound relatively calm. "Please let me go," she breathed. "Please. I'll do whatever, but please let me go. I'm sure my family can pay... Just... _please."_

Erik was mildly taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. "I'm sorry, mademoiselle. I can't let you go. Now, as I said before, if you're hungry..." He didn't need to say anymore. Alyssa bit her lip to try to bottle up her emotions.

She allowed herself to be led into the main room. Erik had set the table up neatly, and she sat down and began to eat with an obvious air of sadness.

_He didn't seem bohered by anything I did yesterday, and pleading didn't so shit. Dammit, I'm running out of ideas.Okay, now I suppose I'll try just being silent. Alright, then. Let the games begin, _Alyssa thought, her eyes having the barest hint of a smile in them even though her face looked depressed and defeated. She instantly cleared her face of all expression.

"Are you all right, mademoiselle?" Erik questioned softly after a while. He waited for a respose, and was surprised when he didn't get one. "Mademoiselle, are you okay?" he repeated, this time louder and clearer. There was still no reply, she he frowned for a second but shrugged it off.

_She _is _a teenager, like she said, _he decided, slightly amused. He ate with Alyssa in what soon became a rather uncomfortable silence, and before long Erik found it almost unbearable.

"Are you finished?" he asked Alyssa. She simply stared at him, her eyes begging him to do what she wanted. That look almost made Erik give in to her, but the thought of himself waiting in prison for the rest of his life (which he figured would happen if he let her go) was enough to steady his mind.

Shaking himself, Erik got up and collected their dishes. He carried them away, then came back to find Alyssa still sitting there, looking pitifully sad.

By now the silence had really done a number on Erik's mind. He was usually very accustomed to it, true, but having someone there, knowing there was another person in his home, and still hearing absolutely nothing was extremely maddening. Even when Christine had been there, when she'd fallen asleep, he'd played his organ softly so as to hear _something._

_Damn... this is so... I can't even describe it! It's driving me crazy! I need noise! Something! Anything! _Erik looked around, searching for some way to break the deafening silence, and the first thing his gaze fell upon was his organ.

_No, I can't... I just couldn't... Not the organ... _No matter how many Erik repeated that to himself, he couldn't suppress his desire to play a thunderous melody. The silence meesed with his mind, until he was sure that he would go insane unless he heard some kind of noise _right then._

Putting all distressful emotions aside, Erik strode over to his organ and sat down. He was unusually nervous about how everything would turn out, but once his fingers touched the ebony and ivory keys, all felt right.

After one deep breath, Erik started to play. He played any song that came to his mind, so the some sort of sound was constantly filling his ears, and so he didn't have to pause to grab some kind of sheet music. Alyssa sat on an armchair the whole time, alternately fiddling with her hair and staring sadly into space.

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Hours later, Erik's hands were beginning to cramp up. They weren't used to playing so much after that long month without any music. Erik turned in his seat and saw Alyssa still sitting in the armchair, but now something about her was different. There were tiny crystal tears noiselessly streaming down her face.

"Mademoiselle," Erik whispered, rising from his seat and walking toward her. He extended his arm and gently caught a tear on the side of one finger. Alyssa pulled away, and he sighed.

"For lack of something better to do, I think I'll retire for the night. Will you be doing the same?" As expected, Alyssa said nothing, so Erik continued. "You are welcome, once again, to use my bed, mademoiselle. Good night."

Erik didn't not undress, since Alyssa was there, but he instead he simply laid down on the chaise lounge. He turned his back to Alyssa and pulled a small maroon blanket up to his shoulder.

Many thoughts were now simultaneously running through Alyssa's mind. She had already come up with a plan to try and escape again, then detals of which she had fine-tuned while listening to Erik's music, but she was a little hesitant to put it into play.

_Do I really need to try it _now_? I can wait until tomorrow night if I need to. And I might come up with a different plan, anyway. Maybe another day of silence is all it'll take before Ghost-man cracks. Yeah, I can wait one more day for my freedom._

Stifling a yawn, Alyssa smoothed down her nightgown with one hand while pulling back the blankets with another. She had now been wearing the same thing for two days! Just the thought made her shudder.

_Well, one of my schemes might work, and then the first thing I'll do is change these damn clothes. And even ifmy plansdon't work, he'll most likely lose patience and kill me. Not the best escape, but an escape just the same. _

Those thoughts echoing in her mind (and some of them not so reassuring), Alyssa sat for a few minutes in darkness. She felt no small sense of happiness when the nothingness of a dreamless sleep claimed her.

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**OK... so your guys' reviewer Thanx are on my homepage as usual... Oh god I'm tired. Anyway, I think I'll go take a nap, but I hope you guys liked! Sorry I took so long to update... next time I'll kick my bro off and lock him out of the house specially for you guys, k? LOL sibling love... gotta love it. ...Pun sorta kinda intended...**


	6. Threats

**Huh... little red flags may go up in your head as you read, but stick with it. Things will get better. This chapter has the most stuff going on in it, so yeah, and I also think it's the longest, too... Interesting. Enjoy.**

**Kudos to _amiga numero tres, _my friend Dani, for her help on this chappy!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own PotO, kk?**

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Erik woke up groggily late in the morning. He groaned and stretched, groaning as his back cracked once. Feeling a little better, he decided to brave going into Alyssa's room (which, of course, was actually his).

Since he still remembered how close their faces had come before, Erik thought of another method to wake her up. Holding a pillow firmly in hand, he took aim briefly and threw the cushion at her from across the room.

"Oh shit!" Alyssa shouted as she sat up. She looked around wildly, and Erik stepped into her line of sight, a smirk clearly playing across his face. "What the freakin' hell was that for?" Alyssa asked.

"You wouldn't wake up any other way," Erik replied, his face now deviod of expression. "Now get up. Breakfast is ready."

Alyssa laid down again, but her stomach gave an unpleasant lurch and she was forced to get up. She followed Erik and sat down at the table, now pausing before she started eating. She was ready to be silent for the rest of the day, and only wished she could have stopped herself from shouting out earlier.

"So, mademoiselle, are you planning on saying nothing again today?" Erik inquired. Alyssa merely gave him a meaningful glance, and he nodded and returned to his plate.

Once they were both finished, Erik cleared the table and he came back to find Alyssa sitting in the same armchair she had been in the day before. He nodded to her once, then turned deftly and sat at his organ.

The day was so similar to the one before that Erik found himself wonderirng if it wasn't the same day, and he had only been daydreaming about falling asleep. A rather unusual daydream, as unusual as the whole predicament was, but he couldn't help but wonder.

Alyssa made not a sound, but sat sideways with her legs over the right arm of the chair. She looked for all the world like she was simply an emotionless statue, but thoughts were swirling around inside her head.

_So tonight I guess I'll carry out my plan. He looks so... comfortable, but I'll wipe that damn grin off his face. He'll wish he'd never kidnapped me... Oh god, I'll make him pay. I can't wait. I'll make him say he's sorry._

After a while, Erik began to lose interest in playing the organ. His fingers were feeling better, but now there was a sense of boredom playing about his mind. An evil idea came into his mind, one that would amuse him, so he turned and faced Alyssa.

"Mademoiselle," he murmured, "I really do pity you. It must be so difficult for a girl like you to stay silent for so long. I also imagine that knowing your silence has no affect on me whatsoever is also very frustrating, _non_?" There was a devilish smile threatening to appear on his lips, but he held it back.

It was a moment like a fork in the road. Alyssa could have chosen to either bottle up the ferocious anger that bubbled up in her gut, or she could have taken her rage out on Erik. She chose the second one.

"God dammit!" she yelled, standing and facing him. "Don't you dare use that damn tone with me, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

"You realize that if you angered me enough, I could most likely kill you before you could so much as touch me." Erik had chosen this entertainment well. He was biting back a laugh with every syllable he spoke. No matter how much Alyssa threatened him, they both knew that he held the power, and seeing how this affected the teenager was extremely amusing to him. He was disappointed when Alyssa bit back a smart remark and straightened up, pulling the strap of her nightgown that had fallen again back onto her shoulder.

"Death is just another way of escaping you," she muttered darkly. Erik imediately came up with another reply that would set her off again.

"Oh, what an _amazing _escape, mademoiselle. Let me guess: It's the best you could think of, correct? And you don't care because you feel _daring_ at the moment? Or is it because you are, as you say, a _teenager_?"

Suddenly Alyssa couldn't control her rage anymore. She rushed at Erik, bringing back her fist to hit him as though she would stop at nothing until he was dead. An exceedingly childish thing to do, but Alyssa's rage, frusteration, and desperation blinded her to all else. Erik expertly dodged every blow she sent at him, except one.

All of the strength that Alyssa possessed had gone into that one, too. Her fist collided with the side of Erik's skull, causing him to lose his balance and knocking the amused look off his face.

Alyssa brought her hand back to hit him again, but Erik evaded her attack and grabbed her wrist in what was terrifyingly close to a bone-crushing grip. With a few clever twists, Erik had soon pulled her body to the ground. His knees were on either side of her abdomen, and he loomed over her, staring dangerously into her eyes.

Had it been almost anyone else in the world, they would have been long since dead. But with Alyssa, Erik felt something different. It was as though, deep inside himself, deepin the depths ofhis soul, he somehow sensed that she was his only hope.

_But only hope for what? _he wondered. Nothing came to mind, but that only enticed him, made him want to know _more..._

After a while, Erik realized that he was still hovering over Alyssa. He struggled to get the dark and menacing gleam back into his eyes.

"I told you before, mademoiselle, that if you did not behave, I would have to tie you to a chair. Do I have to do that, or are you going to behave?"

Normally Alyssa would have said something along the lines of "Bite me!", but this time she knew she couldn't. Not if she wanted to carry out her plan to escape that night.

"I... I'll behave," she mumbled pathetically, doing her best not to look at him. Erik's features took on a more satisfied air, and he stood and pulled Alyssa to her feet, perhaps more roughly then he intended.

"Now go to bed, mademoiselle," he ordered, his voice sharp and like an icy, metal whip to Alyssa's ears. She flinched once at the sound. "I don't want to see you any sooner than tomorrow morning. Do you understand?"

Alyssa nodded, looking every bit the scolded child, and she turned and began to walk back to Erik's room. She made it a point to look as defeated as possible, so that it would come as a bigger surprise when she put her escape plan into action.

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Late that night, her eyes staring into the darkness of the ceiling, Alyssa finally decided that it was time. She had been lying awake in bed for hours, waiting for the right time to spring, like a lioness patientlycounting the seconds untilthe oppurtunity to pounce.

Many of the candles in the main room were still lit, but Erik was seemingly fast asleep on the chaise lounge. Alyssa couldn't tell, because his back was to her, but she decided to risk it. She reached out and grasped a small candlabra that was sitting on his desk without a candle in it. Slowly she turned it upside down so that the thick base was facing up.

Even then, it took Alyssa a few more seconds of mental preperation before she could take the last steps toward Erik. She wondered once if she was doing the right thing.

_Of course I am. I can't escape unless one of us dies. _Taking a deep breath that came as a slight whimper, Alyssa raised the candlabra over her head and readied to bring it down upon Erik's skull.

Fortunately, though, her whimper had been enough to rouse Erik. He was so accustomed to being alone at night that even the quietest of sounds could wake him up.

He opened his eyes silently, and was shocked to see a very strange thing. On the wall beside him, he could see the shadow of what looked like a person holding a club. And that shadow seemed to belong to someone standing right beside him.

Erik rolled over a split second before the candlabra slammed into the chaise lounge, right where his head had been. his eyes widened, and Alysa gave a small cry when she realized that he as awake. She raised the weapon in her hands and started to blindly swing it from side to side. She hit Erik several times, but her fear kept her from thinking properly, and she didn't strike him that hard.

Oblivious to the physical pain that Alyssa had caused him, Erik stood up as soon as he could and wrapped his fingers deftly around the candlabra. He wrenched it out of Alyssa's grasp and threw it to the floor, ignoring the loud sound it made.

Before Alyssa knew what was happening, her back was firmly pressed against the wall and Erik was holding her forearms in a vice-like grip. His eyes had a fire in them that she hadn't seen before, and she barely mastered the instinctive shudder that was about to shake through her.

"Mademoiselle," Erik growled, "I could kill you right now, and I wouldn't have one god-damn bit of remorse. But I'm not going to kill you. Do you know why, mademoiselle? It's because I know of something that would hurt you more, and itmay prove... _beneficial_ to me as well."

Alyssa was about to ask what he meant when he yanked her away from the wall. She let out a cry as Erik began to force her backward toward his room. No matter how wildly she struggled, she couldn't get free of Erik's hold on her. Once she stumbled, and she gave a small cry of pain. She could have sworn that Erik hesitated in tht one moment, but he was pushing her back again in a second.

When they were in the room, Erik compelled her back more until the back of her legs hit the cool, hard metal of the bed frame. He did not relax the pressure he put on Alyssa, causing her knees to bend until she was lying on the bed.

As Alyssa watched in a stunned horror, Erik lay himself upon her. He rested his head on her breasts, and she shuddered as his breath penetrated the thin fabric of her small nightgown. She shut her eyes and did the best she could to prepare herself for living her worst fear.

Slowly Erik reached one hand down and under the short shirt of her nightgown. He felt the thin strap of her underwear, and curled two fingers around it, then he started to slowly slid it down her thigh. Both of Alyssa's hands were firmly clasped in his left.

"No..." Alyssa breathed pitifully, and she let out a choked sob, still not daring to open her eyes. Erik paused and looked at her, rising onto his elbows to see her face. It was turned sideways, away from him, and now a few tears were streaming silently down it.

Just then Erik realized that he couldn't go through with what he'd intended to do. Why had he even started doing something that he knew he would never be able to finish?

_Am I trying to prove something to myself? Is that it? Why the hell did I even threaten to do something like this? I... Ican't do this. _Erik looked sadly at Alyssa. _Oh god, mademoiselle-_

"I'm so sorry." Erik's eyes instantly widened when it hit him that he'd said those last three words. He had meant them, true enough, but for some reason he hadn't been ready to say them.

Erik shakily stood up, then he turned and was gone before it fully registered in Alyssa's mind that he wasn't lying on her anymore.

At last Alyssa peeked one eyes open. There was no sign of Erik, so she fearfully groped above her head for a pillow. She grabbed the first one she found and held it tight to her body. Her fingers clutched the soft material as though she would never let go, and she sobbed desperately into the blissful coolness of the cushion.

After a couple of panic-filled minutes, Alyssa took one final conscious breath before gratefully falling asleep.

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**Yes, my people... I know that was harsh... Perhaps overly so... but it happened nonetheless. And I can't exactly change it at this point... unfortunately... Well, right at this moment, as I'm typing this, I guess I can... but obviously I won't. So HA! LOL just kidding... ok, I'm not. But let me know how you guys liked that. And be gentle if you didn't. Things'll get better.**


	7. Amends

**OMG I feel like such a scummy Authoress... I'm so sorry, you guys! I didn't mean to leave you all hanging like that! It was just... exams... and I waited a while to get this chapter beta-d (Thanks again, Dani! Owe you a million!)... but those are no excuses. And you guys don't want them. You want the story, am I right? Okay, then. On we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO.**

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Many hours later, Alyssa woke up at last, this time without any of Erik's prodding. She felt her head throbbing painfully, and cradled it in her hands. She laid there for nearly another hour, her hands over her eyes and her fingers massaging her temples, before sitting up.

As she bent her body forward, she heard a familiar but unexpected crumpling sound, one made by paper. She rubbed her eyes to more fully rouse herself, then let them open.

To Alyssa's bewilderment, there was a newspaper lying over her legs, held down by a rose with a black ribbon. She angled her head to the right and picked up the red flower, knowing who it was from.

_But why would he give me this? _she wondered, shuddering slightlyas she turned her attention to the newspaper. It looked new and freshly printed, but Alyssa noticed that all the pictures were in black and white, and looked old-fashioned. What scared her the most, though, was the date.

_September 20, **1871**? Oh god, that can't be right! _But it was. Alyssa searched through the paper (which was undoubtedly on the kind of paper that newspapers were printed on), but every date was the same. To be sure that she wasn't being fooled by a clever printer, she read through almost the whole thing. There were articlesin the paper that surely would not have been written by anyone from 2005.

"Oh my god," she breathed, feeling panic ensnare her mind. "Oh my god..." Alyssa bit her lip, trying her best to stay calm and not lose her head. Fortunately, there was something that could help her do that.

_"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation_

_Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination_

_Silently the sense abandon their defenses..."_

Alyssa raised her head, but she didn't see Erik anywhere. _Is that even him singing? _she asked herself asshe swung her legs out of bed and stood up silently. _That voice.. it's so... beautiful... _Alyssa walked to the opening of the room, and suddenly something behind her draped a blanket over her shoulders.

Surprised, Alyssa turned around to see Erik standing behind her. Strangely, though, she didn't feel frightened anymore. His eyes had none of the anger in them that they'd had the night before. In fact, they were glimmering with sadness and regret, and it almost broke Alyssa's heart to so much as look at them.

_"Slowly, gently, night unfurls it's splendor_

_Grasp it, sense it_

_Tremulous and tender_

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day_

_Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light_

_And listen to the Music of the Night..."_

Erik extended his hand, and Alyssa, feeling extremely peaceful, took it. He began to lead her into the main room, never once breaking the gentle stare of their eyes.

_"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!_

_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!_

_Close you eyes, let your spirit start to soar!_

_And you'll live as you've never live before..."_

Now Erik had let go of her hand, but still his fingers lingered inches from her body, as though he was caressing the air around her.

_"Softly, deftly, music shall caress you_

_Feel it, hear it, secretly possess you_

_Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind_

_In this darkness that you know you cannot fight_

_The darkness of the Music of the Night..."_

His tone became a little harder, and Alyssa continued to gaze at him withentranced eyes.

_"Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world!_

_Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before! _

_Let your soul take you where you long to be!" -_Alyssa gasped at the intensity of his voice and put a hand to her chest, enraptured-

_"Only then can you truly be free..."_

Erik had changed thelyrics that he usually sang then, thinking that Alyssa would like these ones better. She merely let her eyelids slide half-shut in an almost lazy manner.

_"Floating, falling, sweet intoxication_

_Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation_

_Let the dream begin_

_Let your darker side give in_

_To the power of the music that I write_

_The power of the Music of the Night..."_

Slowly Erik started to back away from her, yet Alyssa never looked at anything but him. Her face was expressionless, but he noticed that she took a small, however hesitant step toward him.

_"Feel the power of the music that I write_

_The power of the Music of the Night," _he finished, again changing the words because the original ones wouldn't have fit the situation. Alyssa blinked, her features somehow softer and her eyes expressing a slight disappointment at the ending of the song. Erik smirked to himself, glad that his voice had worked. If he hadn't put her in the trace-like state that she was in, he was sure that she wouldn't listen to what he had to say.

"Mademoiselle," Erik began, "I apologize for what I did to you last night. I don't know what came over me." He knew that it was best for him to keep his apology short and simple, before she came to her full senses.

Hearing his normal voice made Alyssa slowly come to reason with herself. Her first instinct was to inflict some sort of pain in Erik, but she remembered something just in time that stopped her.

_"I'm so sorry." _Erik had actually apologized to her before, right after he'd threatened her! Alyssa was torn apart by her impulse to snap off a smart-mouthed remark and her conscience, which reminded her of what she'd done to him as well.

"I... guess I'm sorry, too," she murmured at last. "I did... try to kill you. I mean, I just thought that I'd been kidnapped, you know? But..." Alyssa's breathing became more frantic and heavy. "...It seems that, crazy as it sounds, I'm suddenly in the year 1871!"

Erik put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. "Mademoiselle, calm down. What do you mean, 'suddenly'? I don't understand."

Scared and desperately trying to keep control of herself as the weight of this unexplainable knowledge was put onto her shoulders, Alyssa whispered," I'm from the year 2005."

All of the sudden, everything about the past few days made sense for Erik. That was why she didn't know about him, and why she'd gotten angry when he had told her the date a few days before. It was, as Alyssa put it, crazy, but it fit the puzzle.

"Oh god. Mademoiselle, I thought that you were some Parisian, maybe a dancer in the opera house. I didn't let you go because I figured you would alert other people in Paris of where I lived."

Even though she was still quite shocked, Alyssa was beginning to accept her theory and the fact that she was over a hundred years in her past. The way she saw it, she would be stuck there whether she liked it or not.

"Well, this was one hell of a misunderstanding," she commented, her tone casual and even with a tinyhint of amusement in it.

"I see what it must have looked like to you, mademoiselle."

"I must have looked pretty weird, too, just kinda showing up here in a nightgown..."

Both of them turned inward to think for a second. They both thought afterward that it must have been a pretty comical situation, though neither thought so at the time.

"I'm still sorry about what I tried to do, mademoiselle," Erik apologized again.

"Me, too," she replied. "And, if you want, you can stop calling me 'mademoiselle'. It's a bit too formal for me. My name's Alyssa."

Erik let out a small breath. "Alyssa..." His voice trailed away softly.

"And since you aren't saying anything, I'm going to assume that you... don't have a name...? That whole Opera Ghost thing was a joke... right? I mean, you... _do _have a name, don't you?"

"Forgive me, mademoi- ...Alyssa. I suppose you could say that the Opera Ghost is my title. My real name is... Erik."

Alyssa nodded. "Okay, then. Cards on the table, Erik. The way I see it, I'm kind of stuck in this unfamiliar time zone without anyone I know and no place to stay. I mean, if you did let me go, I wouldn't tell anyone where you lived, but I don't really have anywhere I _could_ go, so, I mean..."

"I... suppose you could stay here..."

"...Alright, then. I don't want to be, like, too imposing or anything, but thank you. Since it looks like I'll be staying here, I guess, it might be a good idea to skip the acquaintance stage. I still don't know you that well, but if we're going to be..." She paused for a moment, then took on a hesitant air. "But then again, after last night..."

Erik sighed. "Like I've said before, Alyssa, I don't know what came over me. I have no desire to harm you, but last night I just-"

"Snapped?" Erik nodded, and so did Alyssa."It's okay... I guess. I did try to kill you." The casual way she said that almost made Erik want to laugh. "You've been all right with keeping your word true, except for last night, and I guess I don't have much of a choice, so... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Alyssa looked at Erik, and she noticed his mask again. She was tempted to bring it up, but luckily decided against it, thinking that it would be better to ask about it when they were more comfortable with each other.

"I'm glad that you don't hate me, Alyssa. There are already too many people in the world... but never mind them. What do you think... we should do? Well, of course, not _now, _but tomorrow?" Erik looked at Alyssa, and was surprised to see that she was staring at him with a suspicious expression.

"That was a curious thing to say. Too many people in the world who hate you? Why is that? What did you do?" Alyssa asked.

"Perhaps tomorrow, my dear." Alyssa gave him a curious look.

"You called me 'my dear'. Why?"

Erik stopped short. "I'm sorry, Alyssa. I'm not sure why I did that." And it was true. He didn't. He then shook himself and suggested that Alyssa go to bed. She didn't argue with him, but instead headed into his room, nodding to him once.

After a few seconds, Erik decided that maybe he should rest as well. He peeled off his coat and laid down on the small, uncomfortable chaise lounge again. He'd only been awake for a few hours, but what a few hours they'd been!

_This had been a very enlightening day, _he thought. _I can hardly believe what must've happened to Alyssa. She... also wants to live with me! Hmm... perhaps she may become more that just an acquaintance, like she said. Alyssa may be my first friend._

Even though he knew how funny that sounded, Erik couldn't help but hope that it might be true. He had never had what he could really call a friend before.

_Maybe that's why Alyssa feels like my last hope. She may not even be a "last hope", but instead perhaps a first friend..._

_

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_

**There you guys go at last... I'm anxious to see how these reviews will be... Oh, adn before I forget, I'm thinking about changing the title of this story, too. Septermber 17 just sounds too... I'm not actually sure. But I'm gonna change it sometime soon. Perhaps after I post the nest chapter. Just to let you know.**

**Oh yeah, and his is a bit important. If there is anyone who would like to be a beta for this story, please let me know! I lost at least one, and I like to have two to get a little extra critique. So if there is anyone who would like to be a beta, please let me know!**


	8. Forgiveness

**I feel like such a scummy authoress... I don't suppose I'm sorry could really over this one, but, uh... I'm so sorry! Ugh, no matter how hard I try to update soon, I end up taking forever! And it's been over a month! Argh:Slaps self: That doesn't quite cover it either. So why don't I just give you the chapter, eh? Hope you guys enjoy, and I'm sorry again.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own Phantom of the Opera.**

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Erik yawned with his eyes still closed and sat up, massaging his temples with one hand. He groaned and stretched, but realized a second too late that he was to close to the edge of the chaise lounge. With a supressed cry of surprise, he tumbled to the floor. 

"Oh, you are awake." Alyssa wandered into the room, and in one seemingly frozen moment, Erik realized that his mask had fallen off. In a flash he covered the right side of his face and turned away, praying that she hadn't seen him.

"What's the matter?" Alyssa asked, slowly walking toward him. Her gaze lingered for a second on his shoulder, then turned to the floor. That was when she caught sight of his mask. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "I just... I didn't know." She closed her eyes and turned her head. "You can put it back on now. I'm not looking."

Still feeling rather tentative, Erik stole a glance at her before reaching for his mask. Seeing her with her hands over her eyes made him feel... different. She actually _wasn't_ trying to look at his face, like everyone else in the world always was. It was a refreshing change.

"Thank you," he breathed, once his face was once again hidden behind his white mask. Alyssa spun back around and opened her eyes, then shrugged once in a typical teenager-like fashion. Erik asked her how long she had been awake.

"Maybe about half an hour or so," she answered, smoothing down her nightgown. "You okay, though? It looks like you fell off, not to put too fine a point on it."

"I think I'll be fine, mademoiselle." Catching the look in Alyssa's eyes, Erik corrected himself. "Alyssa, I mean. Thank you for being concerned."

Alyssa shrugged again. "It's not a big deal, really. You act like no one's ever asked you if you were alright before."

An awkward silence followed her words. Erik gazed away from her, and Alyssa wished she hadn't said that. She swiftly thought of a way to change the subject.

"This is, uh, lovely, by the way," she muttered, picking up the rose that Erik had given her the day before. "I didn't get a chance to thank you yesterday. Normally friends wouldn't give each other roses like this, but it's very pretty."

"What did you say, Alyssa?"

"Normally friends wouldn't give each other roses like thi-"

"Friends?" Erik was taken aback by how casually she said it, as though it just flowed off her tongue. Alyssa gave him an unusual look and nodded.

To make things easier, Alyssa decided to explain her point of view, a skill she'd learned from her grandmother and one she liked to practice. "See, Erik, I'm usually a pretty go-with-the-flow person. I can adapt to change pretty easily most of the time, and I don't try to question why things are. Everything just seems so _complicated _when you do that. So I try to just accept how things are. Maybe that's just because I'm lazy, but whatever.

"I might be a little difficult for me to get used to being friends with an older person, and most likely the same for you. But, of course, for you it would be a younger person. However, don't try to get all cold and tell me you don't need any people around or anything. Humans just aren't like that. So I'll ask you: Are you willing to try and get along? I am, but are you?"

She had said this all so fast and matter-of-factly that it took Erik a second to realize that she was done talking.

"I am more than willing, Alyssa," he spoke at last, sitting up a little straighter and staring her softly in the eyes. Alyssa smiled, and Erik gave a half-grin in return, a bit unfamiliar with the muscle movement it took.

"So what do you... _do _around here, Erik?" Alyssa questioned. "I mean, you can probably imagine that I've been just a teeny bit bored, no offence meant."

Erik thought about it for a second. "I'm not sure what kinds of things you like to do, but..." He stood and walked past her into his room. His music box sat on a small nightstand, but he only glanced at it before he knelt down and opened the drawer of the nightstand.

"I have this, if you would like it." Erik handed Alyssa what she recognized as a book. The letters on the front cover were so faded from years of use that she could not read them. Only when she opened the book did she identify it.

"The play write for Romeo and Juliet?" she asked. "Cool. Where'd you get it?"

"I came upon it a long time ago."

Alyssa laughed, even though she wasn't even sure why she did so. "Well, thanks. I say the play once, but I never read the script. Seems interesting." She paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I don't suppose you'd have a copy of Black Beauty about you, though?"

"What? Black Beauty? I've never heard of it." Erik searched his memory, but the title didn't ring a bell.

Once again Alyssa laughed, and the resonating sound caused an unfamiliar sensation to sweep through Erik. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. That won't be out for another couple of years. Damn." Alyssa giggled at herself for forgetting. Erik, however, was curious.

He was pretty sure that she was talking about a book, and he wanted to stimulate some sort of conversation, so he asked her, "What is this 'Black Beauty' about?"

A small sigh told him that Alyssa was obviously passionate about it. "It's basically the story of a horse. He's got a kind master in the beginning, but then he gets sold, and his life just kinda goes downhill from there. He's abused and overworked and stuff, but it eventually gets happy again. It's a really, really good book, though. I've read it like twenty times."

"You like horses, mademoiselle?"

For once Alyssa overlooked the formal name. "Yeah. A lot. Like, a lot a lot." She stared off into space dreamily, looking to Erik as though she could see images of stallions galloping along the walls of his room.

Erik smiled and stood up again. He grabbed his cloak from on top of a small chest in the corner of his room. Handing it to Alyssa, he murmured, "Come with me," and proceeded to walk into the main room.

Puzzled, Alyssa wrapped his cloak around herself and followed him. He pulled back the curtain covering what Alyssa had thought was a mirror, but turned out to be a hidden passageway. She took a surprised step back, feeling as confused as ever.

"This is my labyrinth. Stay close, as it is obviously very easy to get lost in here," Erik warned. Alyssa bit back a sarcastic remark and took a couple steps closer to him. He grabbed a candle and began to walk into the corridor, with Alyssa less than a foot behind him.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Erik suddenly felt Alyssa's fingers snatch the back of his shirt. He turned sharply in shock and nearly dropped the candle in his hand. Of course, it didn't help that his movement caused melted wax from the candle to drip onto his hand.

"What is it?" he asked, gritting his teeth against the pain of the burned skin on his hand. He turned and saw that Alyssa was staring at the ground with wide eyes, even though she couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Some... something brushed against me," she breathed, shaking in fear. Seeing her looking as frightened as she was was a big surprise for Erik, who had almost expected her to be fearless, judging by the way she usually acted.

"Most likely it was just a rat, Alyssa," he murmured, eyeing what he could see of her in the candlelight. "There is nothing in here that will hurt you. ...I can always carry you, though, if it would ease your _fear_."

Alyssa shook her head, not noticing the way he emphasized his last word, but she clutched the spare material of his shirt and didn't let go as they walked on. It didn't take too long before they reached the particular corridor that Erik had been leading her towards. The candle parted the darkness as they took a few steps forward, and suddenly Alyssa gasped. There was a gorgeous black horse standing in the passageway, tethered to a bar.

"This is Cesar," Erik murmured, striding toward the black stallion. He reached out and put a hand on Cesar's neck, patting the soft coat. (A/N: Some people spell the horse's name "Cesar" and some spell it "Caesar." I'm just going with Leroux's spelling.)

"Cesar," Alyssa repeated, cautiously extending her fingers to give the horse a chance to get to know her. Once Cesar began to show signs of comfort, she started to smooth the hair of his mane.

Both Alyssa and Erik stood there in silence, stroking the horse and becoming lost in their thoughts. A smile graced Alyssa's lips, and after a long time she turned to look at Erik. Seeing her move in the corner of his eye, he turned, too.

"So how does he eat, and get exercise?" Alyssa questioned, tilting her head toward Cesar so Erik knew who she was talking about (though, admittedly, there wasn't anyone else she _could _have been talking about).

"I feed him," Erik answered, his voice sounding like a low growl. "I'm afraid he doesn't get much exercise, though."

A few nods were all the acknowledgement Alyssa gave him. It was a couple minutes before either spoke again.

"He's beautiful." Alyssa murmured at last.

"I'm sure he's happy to hear that." At Alyssa's laugh, Erik continued. "I think, Alyssa, that we may have to bring our visit to an end. The candle is burning out, and if we linger any longer we shall be making our way home in darkness."

Alyssa nodded again, and she reached out her hand and grasped the back of his sleeve. Saying goodbye to Cesar, which Alyssa seemed reluctant to do, took another minute.

"Come along, my dear," Erik prodded after a moment. He began to walk down the passageway, and Alyssa followed close behind him. She was so quiet that, at one point, though Erik could feel her hand holding his shirt, he found himself wondering if she was still really there.

_That was such a beautiful horse, _Alyssa thought, _and... well, that _was _really nice of Erik to show him to me. We must have spent- what?- two hours there! Perhaps, Erik, you may be nothing like what I saw before... We shall have to see what lies underneath the mask. ...But don't worry, I won't look until you let me. _

Erik couldn't think of much as he led her through the maze of his home. Of course, half of his mind was focused on the path to the boat, which was where he was headed, but curiously enough, the other half was busy concentrating on a particular spot on his arm. A certain spot where occasionally Alyssa's fingers came close enough for some of her body heat to seep through his sleeve and warm his skin...

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**Alrighty. I hope that was worth the wait, though admittedly :Reads over chapter: It was a bit slow. The next chapter will come soon and haha, it'll be full of good stuff. I promise! Depending on how fast I get it beta-d, I might be able to post it as soon as tomorrow or so! Please review and tell me how you liked it!**


	9. Intoxication

**And yet another long delayed chapter... But at least it was only about a week. God, school is swarming me like dust swarms a Swiffer. Sorry, I've been obsessed with Swiffers lately for some unexplainable reason. Anyway, this chapter will have the most action in it, and although little red flags may go up here and there, just stick with it.**

**Disclaimer: Okay, if I did own PotO, what the hell would I be doing on fanfiction? I'd be publishing million dollar novels or making movies or taking baths in money. So get it through your head. I don't own it.**

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"Hey, Erik? Erik..." Noiselessly Erik's eyes opened at Alyssa's prodding, and she jumped slightly at the suddenness of his movement.

"Oh, god, you scared me," she whispered, her hand on her chest.

"I apologize, Alyssa. But why did you wake me?" Erik asked, sitting up and blinking to get his eyes into focus. He stifled a yawn and ran a hand once over his unmasked cheek.

Alyssa paused for a moment, appearing rather nervous before him. "Well, I..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "You know how when you're, um... when you haven't had anything to drink in a _long _time, and your throat feels really dry and stuff? It's kinda- no, it's _really-_ hard to go to sleep. And, well, I have no idea how to get water around here, so I had to wake you up and.. yeah..." Erik noticed that she was wringing her hands slowly, and stood up.

"No need to get tongue-tied, Alyssa," he muttered dismissively, noting how her mouth dropped open in indignation. He cut her off before she could protest. "I'll show you how to get water." He led her to a small hidden doorway in the corner of the room, behind which was a comfortable yet elegant-looking kitchen. Erik took a copper goblet out of a cupboard, then showed Alyssa a very clever fountain for water. "There you are, my dear," he murmured, handing the full goblet to her.

With a slight smile, Alyssa took a sip of water. "Thank you," she breathed, her throat very relieved. The end of her nightgown gently rested against her thighs, and she suddenly remembered what she was wearing. "Hey, Erik..." she began, "you know, I've... kinda been wearing the same thing for a few days now, and it's, uh, a little weird. I... don't suppose that, well..."

"Would you like me to take you above ground, Alyssa?" Erik spoke up. "We can look for some new clothes for you." Somehow it seemed to Alyssa that Erik could always sense how she felt and what she was thinking.

"I mean, I don't want to impose or anything, but.. maybe, yeah. I, uh, also don't have any money, but I could find some way to pay you back... or something. We don't even have to go today. In fact, I was thinking that tomorrow might be better..." Erik, who had been walking toward her the whole time, tentatively put a finger to her lips to quiet her.

He stared softly into her eyes, lowering his hand. "It's okay, Alyssa. Don't be afraid to ask for things you need. Tomorrow will actually be better, and I will be glad to take you. Thank you for being so considerate as to think of which day might be best."

Erik gave Alyssa a half-grin, and she let herself smile back. She whispered a quiet, "Thank you," and Erik nodded in response.

"Can you teach me how to play the organ?" she asked suddenly. That was the last thing Erik had expected her to say, and he, for once, was unable to hide his surprise.

His voice uncertain, Erik inquired, "You... you're interested in the organ?" Alyssa eagerly nodded twice, and he grinned. "Well, if you're sure, then how could I refuse a pupil?"

Alyssa smiled, and Erik led her to the instrument. She knew that all she really wanted was to give Erik a chance to feel important (and, perhaps, happy), but nevertheless she sat down beside Erik on the bench when he motioned for her to do so.

"So do you know anything about the piano or organ?" Erik questioned, thinking that it would be a good idea to find out what she already knew.

"I can play one song, but that's only because I memorized which keys to press by watching my friend. I can't read notes or identify them on the keyboard or anything," Alyssa answered. Erik nodded once, thinking to himself, then he suddenly pointed to a key on the organ.

"Perhaps we should start with the basics, then. This key, Alyssa, is an 'A' note." He pressed the key gently, letting the sound echo throughout his home. "The notes are labeled A through G. Each A on this organ is eight keys apart. From one A to another is called an octave. ...Are you understanding this?"

Though she really only understood bits and pieces of it, Alyssa nodded. _So, A through G, and every eight keys is an octave... alrighty then. _

At Alyssa's nod, Erik continued.

"Good. Now... if we go on to reading the notes on paper..." He then proceeded to give her instructions for reading them, which took more than an hour and which he had to repeat twice before Alyssa started to show signs that she could remember what he said. It took a remarkably long time, but Erik didn't mind. If Alyssa wanted to learn, he knew that he would teach her until his death.

_Is it normal for me to get this attached to my first friend? _he wondered. _...It probably is. After all, she's the only human I've seen in more than a month. I'm just happy to have someone to talk to..._

"Will you play something for me?" Alyssa asked then, interrupting his thoughts. "I mean, I appreciate my lesson and all, but it's a little much for the first day. For me, at least. Would you please play a song, so I can hear one."

"Weren't you listening when I played all those songs a few days ago?"

Alyssa turned her gaze to the ground. "To be honest, not really. I still thought you'd kidnapped me, remember? I heard you, but I wasn't _listening, _you know?"

Erik nodded, then placed his hands softly on the organ. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then began to play. It was one of his own compositions, but one of his lighter ones, rather than a dark, morbid melody.

With a look of wonder upon her face, Alyssa watched him play. She observed the passionate way his fingers touched every key in the beautiful song. Slowly her eyes skimmed up his arm and came to rest on his face.

_He really loves music, _she thought as she gazed at the expression his features created. It was one of intense love and peace, as though music was his only care in the world.

Now that she was taking the time to look, Alyssa noticed how attractive the visible side of Erik's face was. For someone who lived underground in a cave, she considered his looks to be fairly pleasing to the eye. He wasn't exactly, to her, drop-dead gorgeous, but he wasn't exceptionally unfortunate-looking either.

All too soon the song came to an end. Alyssa shook herself and looked away before Erik realized that she was staring at him.

"That was... lovely," she spoke, at last meeting Erik's gaze. She grinned and tried to run her fingers through her hair, but it had too many knots in it. Alyssa gave up after struggling with it for a moment, and Erik noticed.

"I hope it won't make you uncomfortable if I mention this, but... I imagine that you may need to bathe yourself," he murmured, and Alyssa drew back upon instinct. Erik hastily explained himself. "I didn't mean anything by it, Alyssa, I swear. I was simply going to offer use of the bath in the bathroom to you. You know that there's a lock on the door," he added quickly, catching the fleeting suspicious look that Alyssa gave him.

At last Alyssa sighed. "Of course, you're right. I have been needing to... yeah. ...So, what? I guess I just go now?"

"Whenever you like. It makes no difference to me," Erik answered without looking at her. Alyssa nodded, then slowly rose and withdrew into Erik's room. She walked into the small bathroom, then shut and locked the door behind herself.

_This really is a very pretty bathroom, _she thought to herself, sliding her hand over the smooth marble of the countertop. She paused for a moment, then knelt down and turned the old-fashioned tap for the bath.

As the water poured into the tub, which was set in the ground, Alyssa took off her nightgown and undergarments, cautiously darting her eyes about the room. She trusted Erik a little by now, but sometimes you couldn't be sure. It always helped to be careful.

Once the bath was full, Alyssa slowly eased her body into the water. She gasped at it's cold temperature, but told herself firmly that she might as well get used to it, because that might be the only type of water she'd ever take again. Deciding that it would be better if she got her bath over with quickly, Alyssa grabbed the available bar of soap and rubbed it between her hands to get them covered in suds.

_What I wouldn't give for some Pantene, _she thought grimly as she furiously scrubbed her scalp. It hurt a lot, but she gritted her teeth and didn't stop. She had to pause occasionally to put more soap on her hands, but at last her entire head was white with suds.

Alyssa sighed as she leaned back and let the cold water rinse her hair. She sat there in bliss for a few seconds, then let her fingers help to get all of the soap washed out. Then she set to work on her body.

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Erik drummed his fingers on the table in a steady rhythm. Even though Alyssa had tried to be quick about bathing, she was still taking quite a bit of time. He found himself wondering if something could have possibly happened to he. He didn't know exactly _what_, but _something._

With a small groan Erik stood up. His mind wouldn't let him rest until he knew for certain that she was okay. He wandered into his room and over to the bathroom door.

"Alyssa?" he called, reaching out and knocking twice. "Alyssa, are you all rig-" He was cut off as the door suddenly opened and smacked into him- hard.

Surprised, Erik's hand flew to the bridge of his nose, which hurt the most. His mask had taken most of the impact, but not all. Erik took a step back as Alyssa came out, nothing but a towel around her body.

"Oh god, are you okay?" she asked, touching his fingers with hers lightly and holding the towel with the other hand. He eyes were wide with concern, and she repeatedly apologized to him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Carefully massaging the bridge of his nose, Erik managed a smile. "I'm okay, Alyssa. Really. You just caught me off guard was all. I was just going to tell you that dinner was ready when you opened the door and... well, you know."

Alyssa laughed. "I hope I didn't hit you too hard. I really am sorry..." Both of them were silent for a few seconds, as they realized at the same time what Alyssa was wearing. Alyssa blushed and took a step back. "I'm going to get dressed, and then I'll come eat, okay?" Erik nodded and quickly left the room to give her privacy, not looking back.

_Oh god. I can't believe I came out like that. Nothing but a god damn towel... What was I thinking? _Alyssa slipped her nightgown over her head and sighed. _Things could've gotten out of hand. _Once she was dressed in all she had, she walked back into the main room, where Erik was waiting.

In a very gentleman-like fashion, Erik pulled her chair out for her so she could sit down, then pushed it in when she was seated. "Alyssa, you're going to be having water, I presume?" he asked.

"Actually, Erik, I think I'll try some of that wine you like to drink," she replied. "I mean, if that's okay with you. ...I need to be able to taste something tonight."

Erik looked at her apprehensively. "Do you think you could handle it? I'm afraid everything I have is quite strong, and you're still young..."

"Oh, to hell with it. And I'm not that young. Seventeen, for your information," Alyssa snapped playfully. "Maybe a little under the drinking age in my time, but is there even a drinking age now? Not that it would really matter. Please, Erik?"

At last, after a long minute of consideration, Erik gave in to her. He filled her glass with the deep maroon liquid, then filled his own and sat across from her. His eyes surveyed her with just a hint of nervousness as she raised the glass to her lips and sipped the wine.

Alyssa's head nodded from side to side. "It's okay, I guess," she remarked. "Better than water, but not as good as a latte. Then again, what is?" She took another long drink, then began to eat.

_I hope she can take the alcohol, _Erik thought to himself. _Depending on how long it's been since I've had wine, sometimes it can be strong for even me. And especially if this is her first time drinking..._

"Alyssa, my dear, do you think that maybe you should go back to water?" he asked as she drained her third glass. "At least for tonight?"

With a girlish giggle that was most unlike herself, Alyssa questioned, "Now why do you say that?" Her eyes were a bit glazed over as she elegantly filled her glass again.

_Oh, she'll be fine. ...The wine won't kill her, at any rate, and she seems... happy. I shouldn't worry about her so much. _Erik shrugged and grinned at Alyssa, who smiled back as she took another drink.

A while later, Alyssa surprised him with a question. "Do you dance?" she asked, eyes wide now and pupils unfocused. Erik frowned and his brow furrowed in concern.

"...A bit, I suppose," he answered warily, staring at Alyssa.

She laughed and tossed a stray hair over her shoulder. "What kind of dance?" she inquired. "I mean, I'm sure you don't, like, freak dance or anything. But do you salsa?" Her face suddenly lit up. "Oh, tell me you know how to tango!"

Still surprised and wondering where this was going, Erik nodded. Alyssa smiled, then stood up and took his hand. She signaled for him to get up, which he did, then she tugged on his arm until he followed her into his room.

"What are you doing, Alyssa?" Erik asked her. She turned to face him.

"The tango, duh!" she laughed, and Erik gave her a quizzical look. Deciding to go along with her since it at least kept her from drinking, he tentatively took her hand, and his fingers found their way to her back. He counted the seconds and started to dance.

The tango, being such a serious dance, didn't require for them to get too close. Erik wasn't sure if he liked that or not, though. Half of him was fine keeping Alyssa where she was, but once or twice he got a crazy urge to pull her closer.

He shook himself as he thought about it, and suddenly he lost his balance and tripped over the side of his bed. He fell onto its soft surface, and immediately Alyssa burst into peals of laughter.

Feeling emboldened, Erik grabbed her arm and pulled her down beside him. He stared at the ceiling and listened as Alyssa slowly stopped laughing.

All of the sudden, she rolled over so that half of her body was atop his. Erik's brow furrowed in confusion as he watched her hand slide down his shirt, pausing every few seconds. Finally it hit him that she was... unbuttoning his shirt! Alyssa parted the front of it, and Erik felt a strange sensation spread throughout him as her fingers touched his chest. Her hand traveled to his neck, then to his face, and hesitantly it stroked his mask until her fingers found the edge.

"No, Alyssa. I can't let you do that." Erik was surprised with how calm he was able to act. A million different emotions and thoughts were scurrying around his mind, but he managed to not show it.

With a slightly disappointed sigh, Alyssa contented herself with caressing the skin of his torso. A buzzing feeling spread from her fingertips, making Erik's whole chest feel as though it was on fire.

"Alyssa, what are you doin-"

"Ssh," she shushed, and Erik fell silent, his eyes wide. Alyssa sighed and lay her cheek on the beautifully sculpted muscles of his chest. Her eyes closed lazily as she whispered, "Erik... love me."

The words alone, if you took no notice to the way she said them or the position she and Erik happened to be in, were relatively harmless. But Erik knew the position they were in, and detected the tone she used. She didn't want him to love her emotionally. She wanted him to love her physically.

And all of the sudden Erik could see it. He could see himself finding a great pleasure he'd always been denied. In his mind's eye, he could see himself making love to her gorgeous body. He could _feel _it.

Then his vision was gone, replaced by a memory.

_"No..." Tears slowly trailed down her face as he prepared to take her as his. He rose to his feet in horror, but still she kept her eyes shut. She didn't even look at him as he left the room, feeling sorrier than he ever had before. She _couldn't _look at him. _Erik knew then what he had to say.

"No, Alyssa. I can't. I'm afraid you're intoxicated, and you don't know what you're saying."

Alyssa groaned, moving slightly as she did so. "Why not? Are you afraid, Erik?"

Figuring there was little to be gained by lying (not that Alyssa would remember it anyway), Erik nodded and murmured, "Yes."

"Of what?"

"I'm afraid of losing the only friend I have. I'm afraid of what you would think of after I took advantage of your intoxication. And I'm afraid... of hurting you." Erik met her eyes at the last sentence.

"Oh, Erik..." Alyssa groaned again, and Erik found himself wishing that her nightgown wasn't so amazingly short and thin. He wished that her breath hitting his skin didn't feel so wonderful. It wouldn't be so hard for him to refuse her if it wasn't for those things. Erik bit his lip to try and keep from thinking of them.

When all of his attempts failed, Erik gave up. "Maybe I should just go now," he mumbled. He was about to slide Alyssa off him when she stopped him.

She still didn't open her eyes as she breathed, "No. Don't go. You're so warm."

Erik bit his lip again but decided to listen to her. He shifted his position so that she was where he could comfortably wrap one arm around her waist. Her breathing became slow and even against him, and after a few seconds Erik did not hesitate to join her in a peaceful slumber.

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**Ooohhh... Alyssa's not gonna be happy when she wakes up... And the more reviews I get, the faster she will wake up. Hope you guys liked it!**


	10. Amnesia

**...And, of course, because of the imcompetent Authoress, it took Alyssa much longer than expected to wake up. Gah! So sorry, guys! .:Backhands self:. I've been so, so busy lately, and I- gr, I have no excuse. I need to update sooner in the future, no getting around it!**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I still don't own anything except the plot of this particular fic.**

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In the late hours of the morning Alyssa finally awoke. She didn't open her eyes at first, but sighed contentedly againt the warmth pressed to her cheek. In her mind she wondered what it was, but didn't untimately consider it to be a big deal.

Then she heard it. _Thump-thump, thump-thump. _An echoing beat of some sort. Alyssa frowned slightly, wondering to herself where she heard that sound before. Her eyes shot open when she realized that it was... a heartbeat.

Her mind quicklypieced togetherwhat was happening. She was in bed, lying on... Erik's chest! Erik's _bare_ chest!

"Oh my god..." Alyssa whispered. She hadn't moved, her fear taking over her muscles and making them seize up. She whimpered pitifully, biting back tears. At last, though, it all became too much. Alyssa jerked away, nearly falling off the bed and instantly rousing Erik. He sat up and gave her a concerned look.

"Alyssa, are you all right?" he asked, throwing the sheets aside to give his legs room to move. Alyssa noticed that from the waist down he was still dressed, but even that couldn't calm her down.

"Oh my god, no!" she shouted. "You... you... And after I trusted you... oh my god. I... I can't..." Overwhelmed, Alyssa turned and ran into the bathroom behind her. She slammed the door as hard as she could and locked it.

Erik was utterly confused. He stood up and approached the door, his thoughts to muddled to allow him to be angry.

"What on earth are you talking about, Alyssa?" he called. "As far as I know, I haven't done anything! Is this another misunderstanding of yours? Come out here!"

Huddled in the opposite corner of the room, Alyss completely ignored him. Tears coursed down her face, and she made not attempt to stop them. _I can't believe him... _she thought. _I was beginning to trust him! Was that his plan all along? Get me drunk and then... _Alyssa shuddered and pulled her legs more tightly to her chest.

"Please just listen to me, Alyssa," Erik pleaded. "I swear to God that I did nothing to harm you last night. Don't you remember?" He knew that she didn't, obviously, and not only because of her actions. The first time he'd taken that much alcohol, he hadn't remembered much, either.

Part of Alyssa heard him, and she wanted to believe him. She wanted him to be right so, so badly. So badly that she decided to at least listen to what he had to say. Carefully and hesitantly Alyssa eased herself away from the wall, toward the door. She was going to say something when her head suddenly began to pound and ache like it never had before, and her stomach felt twisted and knotted.

Not knowing what else to do, Alyssa scrabbled over to the sink. She bowed her head over it an vomited. Her throat burned, and she could faintly taste the wine as the contents of her stomach came up.

"Alyssa, are you okay? Alyssa, unlock this door or I'm coming in anyway!" Erik threatened. Alyssa was in no state to open it, so he was forced to pick the lock (which, considering his expertise, took little more than a second) and enter the small bathroom.

"Oh god!" Erik exclaimed as he saw Alyssa turn the tap of the sink and wash down what she had thrown up. She groaned and clutched her gut with one chalk-white hand.

Gently Erik placed his fingers over hers from behind her. "Let me help you," he murmured into Alyssa's ear, and she nodded. He allowed her to lean back onto him, and helped her walk back into his room.

Once Erik had laid her body down softly, Alyssa found herself asking him weakly, "What happened last night, Erik? What _really _happened?"

Sighing to himself, Erik sat down in the armchair opposite the bed. "Well," he began, "you asked me if you could drink wine instead of water-"

"Yes, yes, I remember that," Alyssa interrupted dismissively. "I mean, once I was drunk. What happened?"

"I recall that you asked me... if I could dance. I told you that I could, and the next thing I knew, you and I were doing the tango."

Fragments of the dance played across Alyssa's mind. "Oh! I... I remember that now, too."

Erik continued without acknowledging her. "Than I fell, uh, onto the bed, and I honestly don't know why now, but I pulled you down beside me. Mistake number one, I guess." (Alyssa's eyes grew hard as he spoke these words, but he didn't stop.) "After that, you tried to take off my mask, but I didn't let you, and then you asked me to... well..." It was pretty obvious to Alyssa what the end of his sentence would have been. Her eyes widened.

"I... asked you to?" she questioned. Lowering his eyes, Erik nodded. "What did you say?" she demanded next, searching Erik's cerulean eyes for any sign of dishonesty. But he could not find himself to answer. Even though he had refused her, Erik felt uneasy even discussing the matter with her, and he didn't know why.

Instead, he questioned, "Why don't you just try to remember? It isn't like you would believe me anyway if I told you, even if my answer was accurate."

Knowing that he was most likely rght, Alyssa sighed and searched her mind for the memories. She didn't find any at first, but merely concentrated harder. Then, bit by bit, the scene came back to her.

_"No, Alyssa. I can't. I'm afraid you're intoxicated, and you don't know what you're saying. ...I'm afraid of losing the only friend I have. I'm afraid of what you would think of after I took advantage of your intoxication. And I'm afraid... of hurting you."_

Alyssa felt tears of guilt, shock, and mostly relief come to her eyes. "Oh my god..." she breathed, looking at Erik with her mouth slightly agape. "I'm... so sorry. I... can't believe... so, so sorry." She bowed her head in shame, shoulders shaking as she cried.

Gently Erik reached out and titled her face toward him. "...D-don't cry, Alyssa," he muttered insecurely, revealing inhis tiny stutter how inexperienced he was at consoling people. Instantly he cursed himself for letting it slip. "What I mean to say is... it's... okay."

"No, it's not!" Alyssa shouted suddenly, her head snapping up so fast Erik wondered if she'd cracked her neck. "It's not okay! You... you just kept me safe, and then I yelled at you for it! I never trusted you, and I was always so mean to you, and you still kept me safe last night. I mean, I was a total bitch, yet you still didn't take advantage of me. And all you got for it was me being more of a bitch and still not even trusting you, and-"

"Do you trust me now?" Erik cut in, staring softly at her but keeping his distance just the same.

Through her tears, Alyssa nodded. "Yes... I d-do. I'm so sorry. Thank you... so much. I feel so terrible about the way I... treated y-"

"Sshh," Erik shushed, leaning over and retrieving a small handkerchief from his nightstand drawer, then handing it to her. "It's _okay,_ Alyssa. There's no need to feel bad. Anyone with a little common sense would have been just as alarmed as you were if they woke up in the arms of a man. And anyone with a _lot _of common sense would have been shocked even more so if the man was me." He half-muttered the last part bitterly to himself, but Alyssa heard him. She laughed weakly and dried her eyes with the soft cloth.

Erik grinned at her, relieved with her sudden change of mood, then stood up. "So, my dear, are you ready to go out and get some proper clothes?"

Alyssa gawked at him. "Erik, after what I did- after what I _said-_ I hardly think I deserve-"

"Please, Alyssa. You need new things to wear. Like I said before, the best day to go would be today. So either you come with me, or I shall go alone to get you new clothes. Now, I'm not sure what types of clothes you might like, and it might attract attention for me to go alone- as, I'm sure it is rather odd for a man to be shopping for women's clothing- but if you insist upon staying here I _will _go alone."

"...All right, then," Alyssa muttered at last. "I'll go. You know, so you don't look weird. But I owe you so much, it isn't even funny."

With a small sigh Erik turned lazily around and stared into her eyes. "Alyssa, you have given me your trust. I have never before in my life gotten such a wonderful gift." He knew that he was lying, but Alyssa's relaxed smile was enough for him to know that he would do it again if he had to.

"Okay, but... uh, Erik? What am I supposed to wear outside before I actually get anything?" Alyssa asked, and Erik froze, realizing he hadn't thought of that. Showing complete indifference as usual, he let his eyes sweep the room. He didn't see anything that might help until he looked at his own dresser.

"Well, Alyssa, I think I may have found an answer to that problem. However, I'm not sure you'll want to hear it." Alyssa gave him a wondering look, and he mumbled, "You could borrow some of my clothes."

There was a second of silence before Alyssa suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed for such a long time and so hard that her face turned red and Erik found himself instictively worry about her ability to breathe. He was about to express his concern when he realized that she was calming down.

"No, you can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "Me? Wear your clothes? Ha! And you said that a guy shopping for for women's clothing would be weird!"

Erik waited patiently for her to calm down. "You could always, of course,just wear your nightgown." he murmured.

Faster than the eyes could blink Alyssa was silent. "Point taken," she muttered sullenly before she took the shirt and pants from Erik. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, and the expected click followed as she locked it.

Alyssa quickly changed her clothes, and she found that (after she rolled up the legs of the pants, pulled in the waistline and pinned the shirt closed above the highest button) they actuallyfit pretty well.

The soft sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted her smoothing down her hair, and Alyssa quickly opened the door. Just to tease her, Erik pretended to stifle a laugh at the sight of her, and Alyssa playfully shoved him to even the score.

"I don't mean it, of course, Alyssa," Erik assured her. "You actually look fairly nice, considering your attire. I hope that the hole left by that pin will be unnoticeable once you take the shirt off, though." Before Alyssa could respond, he offered her his arm. "But never mind that. Shall we?"

"Sure," Alyssa laughed, hooking her arm with his. "Let's go."

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**So there you go. Sorry about the immensely long wait. Gr! I must set aside more time for my fics! I don't know how I've let myself slip so far! Argh! Anyway, let me know how you guys liked it, please?**


	11. Interruption

**I have no time to explain, but so sorry this update took so long! To try and make up for it, I'll upload another chapter tomorrow or the day after, but I have to go now, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO.**

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"Finally!" Alyssa exclaimed once Erik had concealed the passageway behind them and led her out into the streets of Paris. "The light at the end of the tunnel!" She laughed joyfully and stepped into the sunlight, relishing in its warming glow. "I was beginning to think we would never get out!"

"Oh, for goodness sake," Erik scoffed playfully. "My home isn't really _that_ bad, is it?"

Alyssa pretended to consider it for a second, then giggled at the incredulous look on Erik's face at her silence. "No, it isn't," she admitted at last. "It's actually very beautiful. But those tunnels and corridors are freakin' dark! Kinda creepy sometimes."

"Maybe for someone like you, I suppose, but you shall soon become very accustomed to them. The dark, too. There's nothing to fear about it. It is merely the absence of light. I personally think it's quite lovely, but that may be only because I'm a creature of the night."

Suddenly realizing that Alyssa was looking at him with a very odd expression, Erik quickly changed the subject. He looked around and saw an elegant clothing store on the corner of the street on the opposite side. Clearing his throat, he pointed it out to Alyssa. "Would you like to begin there, my dear?" he asked. Alyssa shrugged slightly, her eyes wide as she took in the sights before her.

After waiting for a couple horse-drawn stagecoaches to pass by, Erik took Alyssa's arm and carefully escorted her across the street. He noticed how silent she was as they approached the shop, and was tempted to ask her what was bothering her. Fortunately for him, he decided to let the matter go, and merely opened the door to the shop and let her pass him to get inside. Alyssa merely nodded to thank him.

"Bonjour monsieur!" a woman behind the ecounter greeted enthusiasctically. "...And... mademoiselle, too. How may I help you?" Her eyes surveyed Alyssa in a way that the teenager detested. She'd gotten that look many times before while at school back in 2005, and was not about to tolerate it from someone in 1871.

"_Mademoiselle,_" Erik began, gesturing to Alyssa to make it clear that she was the one the woman should focus on, "would like some new clothes. I think you'll agree when I say that the ones she is currently wearing are hardly suitable, _non_?" He turned toward Alyssa and gave her a smile with both his eyes and lips, and she gave him a half-grin in return.

The woman nodded once, slightly caught off guard by the tone in Erik's voice, then pointed to a chair by the door. "You may wait there if you'd like monsieur. We have today's newspaper, if you'd care to read it."

"That would be lovely, mademoiselle. Thank you." Erik took a seat and picked up the yellow-ish paper.

"Now," the woman muttered, facing Alyssa, "What kinds of clothes were you looking to buy? ...Of course, if you don't mind my saying, anything would be an improvement to what you're wearing now..."

Alyssa shrugged, not acknowledging the insult. "I'm not sure. What do you think would look good?"

The woman looked her up and down, mumbling quietly to herself. Alyssa stood perfectly still as she was appraised, but she internally wished the woman would hurry up.

At last the shopkeeper straightened up. "I would say either a dark blue, maybe, or perhaps a light pink." That said, she walked through the aisles of clothes, not looking back as Alyssa followed.

"Here we have our dark blue attire. What size are you, now?" Catching the confused expression on Alyssa's face, the woman rolled her eyes ever so slightly and tried to estimate. She grabbed two different dresses from the rack and held one in each hand.

"Which do you like better?" she asked, hoping that Alyssa could at least answer that simple question.

After a moment's hesitation, Alyssa pointed to the one in the shopkeeper's left hand. "Uh... that one, I suppose."

The woman looked at the one she had picked. "Excellent choice," she nodded after a second, nodding with approval. "Now, let's go try this on, shall we?"

Erik listened to the conversation from his seat in the front of the shop. _Hmm... dark blue. That _would_ look nice on her, _he thought. Satisfied with the fact that he at least knew what color Alyssa would be wearing, Erik leaned back and opened the newspaper. Almost immediately a particular headline caught his attention.

_**Opera Ghost Still Missing**_

_ After following the leads of many anonymous sources,__there has still been no sign of the Opera Ghost who haunted the __Opera Populaire and nearly destroyed the theater only a month __ago. He was pursued by the police to his home in the catacombs __of the opera house, but then disappeared from there without a trace. __Authorities are still..._

Erik sighed and put the newspaper down. He had hoped that people would be gradually be able to forget about him and what he'd done. Reflecting back on that, though, he knew that it was a lot to hope for, that they would forget him. In fact, it might never happen. He had created too much of a uproar in his attempt to get Christine.

_I shall have to be more careful today. Hopefully no one will spare a passing glance, _Erik thought to himself. He stared into space for a second, then straightened up in his seat as the shopkeeper stepped into view.

"Ah, monsieur, it is _c'est magnifique!_ Mademoiselle looks wonderful!" the woman boasted. She reached out and dragged Alyssa from behind a rack, ignoring her feeble protests.

At last Alyssa gave up. The barest hit of a blush crept into her cheeks as she shyly stood for Erik to see.

"That color truly compliments her skin!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, obviously very pleased with her own judgement, and Erik had to agree with her. The dark blue material went perfectly with the tone of Alyssa's flesh. The sleeves rested comfortably on the edge of her shoulders, and the skirt fell neatly to the ground in a shape that went flawlessly with her figure.

"Um, can I go back and hide now?" Alyssa jokingly asked, nervously smiling and trying not to look any more pink than she did. The shopkeeper still had two dresses in her arms (ones that had not fit), so she hurried away to put them back.

Erik stood up slowly once the woman was gone. "Why do you want to hide?" he questioned in a low voice. "You look so lovely."

It was such an innocent bit of praise, and Alyssa looked up in surprise as he began to walk toward her. There was some kind of gleam in his eyes, some kind of desire... One that Alyssa hadn't seen in a very long time. She anxiously hid her face in the palms of her hands, not knowing what else to do. Her face was burning now, and she could do nothing to stop it. After a few seconds she peeked between her fingers.

"Is something wrong, Alyssa?" Erik asked. He was standing there, looking slightly puzzled, and Alyssa braved lowering her hands. "Are you feeling ill?"

Looking fearfully into his eyes, Alyssa saw that the gleam was gone, and she sighed in relief. It had been so tiny, so inconspicuous, and yet there was something about it that frightened her. She had seen it before, at a time she would rather not have remembered.

She shook her head. "I'm... okay. Thanks." It was at that moment that the shopkeeper returned, now holding two light pink dresses in her arms.

"Monsieur, why don't you decide?" she asked, displaying one in each hand. "Which would you prefer to see mademoiselle in?"

"Quite frankly, mademoiselle, I think Alyssa should decide. She's the one who will be wearing them. Although I would not object to seeing her in that one." The woman smiled again and looked at the one Erik had picked.

A tiny bit of pink colored her face. "A wonderful opinion, monsieur." She turned to Alyssa. "Come along, then, mademoiselle. You can try these on." Once again Alyssa was dragged to the changing room.

It didn't take long for Alyssa to slip the dress on now that she knew which buttons went where, and when she straightened up to appraise herself in the mirror, she almost had to do a double take. Her reflection almost scared her, it was so unfamiliar. Unable to believe what she was seeing, Alyssa reached out and touched the reflactive glass with the tips of her fingers.

_Whoa... I never thought I could look like this, _she thought. _It's so... pretty. Way better than that ridiculous junk grandmother dressed me in. _Alyssa gathered her hair together and twisted it into an elegant bun, then looked at herself again. For one of the first times in her life, she liked what she saw. A small smile crossed her face as she moved her head from side to side, trying to admire herself from all angles. She tilted her head to the left, and as she did so her hair fell off of her right shoulder, revealing the tiny image of a rose tatooed on the back of her neck.

"Mademoiselle, are you all right?" the shopkeeper spoke up suddenly, knocking softly on the door. Instantly Alyssa came back to her senses.

"Yes, I'm... fine," she murmured, opening the door and stepping out.

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. "Very nice," she commented.

"Yes, indeed. Very nice," Erik spoke, emerging suddenly from behind a rack. This time Alyssa conquered her shyness and smiled at him

Erik grinned back slightly, then questioned, "Alyssa, I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you need a chemise or something?"

Alyssa, who shad just been proud of herself for not blushing, felt her face begin to burn again. She cursed her embarrassment, and silently cursed Erik (though not as intensely) for saying what he did. After a couple seconds, she nodded, wishing already that the day was over.

* * *

At last she and Erik left the shop. Erik had been kind enough to buy the two dresses for her, plus one more and a few undergarments that Alyssa had stowed at the bottom of the bag.

"Thank you again, Erik," she whispered as they sat together outside a small cafe. "I owe you."

Erik laughed slightly and sipped his coffee. "Not at all, Alyssa. I glad that I could help you in the first place."

Alyssa grined and turned her gaze to the ground. She took the small mug in front of her in hand and took a drink of the amber liquid inside it. It was a while before she looked up again, and she only did so because Erik addressed her.

"If you don't mind," he muttered, "there was just one shop I would like to visit. It's not far at all- just down the street, in fact- and it should only take a minute."

"Of course I wouldn't mind," Alyssa answered, giving him a bight smile. Erik could have sworn that her grin gave off an aura of light that always forced him to smile along with her. It was a nice feeling, being in the way of that aura.

A couple minutes later, both Erik and Alyssa agreed to be on their way. Erik left a few coins on the table, then began to lead Alyssa down the street. For some reason, he was a little tempted to take her arm as they walked, but he quickly dismissed the thought of doing so.

"This is it," he spoke at last , indicating the plain-looking wooden door of a small, rather old-fashioned shop. Alyssa glanced at the sign above her head and smiled. Of course. A music store.

"What're you getting?" she asked Erik, her eyes sweeping the shop as they went inside. It was much bigger (and more lavish) on the inside, what with the various instruments and music books everywhere she looked.

Erik headed instantly to a rack. "Music paper," he muttered, "for composing."

A slight nod met his words. "Yeah. I forgot you did that. Cool." Alyssa moved from his side to look at a few finely decorated silver flutes displayed in their velvet-lined cases. Erik saw two men inch slightly in her direction, but thought nothing of it as he searched through the sheets of paper to find the kind he wanted.

One of the men bumped softly into Alyssa, and she turned her head toward him in mild surprise.

"_Excusez-moi, _mademoiselle. I can be so absentminded sometimes," the man apologized. Alyssa saw that he was rather young, though the other man by his side surely wasn't. She nodded and looked away, but suddenly the young man asked, "Are you new to Paris?"

Alyssa, stunned again at his question, hesitated and gave a cautious nod. The man smiled at her.

"I thought you might be. There's always some kind of look in the eyes of foreigners. ...Then again, it may just be a look that all pretty girls have. Where are you staying, mademoiselle?"

"Why do you want to know?" Alyssa questioned, not liking where the conversation was going and at the same time raising her eyebrows at the crummy pickup line.

The stranger shrugged. "Oh, I was simply... curious. You're very pretty, you know, like I said before. Perhaps, if you don't have anywhere to stay, I could offer you a room." The man gave Alyssa a sly grin, his eyes flashing and glancing every few seconds at places that made her want to slap him. "Mine."

Now the other man at his shoulder spoke. "Such thoughts so early in the day, William?" he mused. "True, she's very pretty, but still..." he playfully slapped William on the back.

"Are you envious?" William smirked. "Goodness, Charlie, just because you can't get a fine girl like this one, that's not reason to trouble me about it."

Alyssa froze, unsure of what to do. The men continued to insult and mock each other in a such a carefree way that she knew they had not yet noticed her fear. Unfortunately, William had reached out and grasped her wrist tightly, so slipping away unnoticed was not an option.

Erik, who had just finished paying for his paper, turned and glanced at Alyssa. He was surprised to find her looking the way she was, with her eyes wide in fear and her body rigid. Frowning slighty, he moved closer to the men to try and hear what they were talking about.

"I already told you, Charlie, I'm going to take mademoiselle back home with me. You can pick up your own girl."

Suddenly Erik understood. This man meant to make Alyssa... his _whore_. That why she was obviously so scared. _Although, if she's so frightened, why doesn't she do anything? Oh well, it looks like either way I must help her._

"Oh, Alyssa, my love," he spoke up loudly, striding past the men and hooking her arm with his. "I think it's time to be leaving now, if you're ready."

Stunned, Alyssa looked up into Erik's eyes. The message she read there told her what he was doing, and she nearly sighed in relief. Just in time she remembered that the men were still there, and she began to play along with Erik's act.

"I'm quite ready, love," she murmured. All for the sake of fooling the men, she adjusted her hold on Erik's arm and leaned lightly against him.

"Are these friends of yours, dear?" Erik asked, seeming as though he had only just then noticed William and Charlie. The former looked as though he had been slapped hard in the face, while the latter was staring at Erik with an unfathomable expression on his face.

"Of a sort," Alyssa replied, her tone cold. She and Erik nodded curtly to the men, then walked out of the store together. As Alyssa turned, her hair caught for a second on the back of her dress on the left side, and the tatoo on the back of her neck was revealed. Charlie's eyes widened in surprise, for he'd never seen such a thing, but before he could say anything Alyssa and Erik had already disappeared.

Once they were out of both sight and earshot, Alyssa let out a great breath. "Oh god... thank you, Erik. Thank you so much. I... oh my god..."

"I figured you were in trouble of some sort. ...Those men..." Erik growled softly, disgusted, "...searching for one thing only, and trying to find it in you. Revolting." He paused suddenly and turned to her. "Were you truly as scared as you looked, Alyssa?"

It was a long time before he got an answer, but at last Alyssa nodded and muttered an extremely brief, "Yes." She was silent for a time, and then laughed softly (more out of anxiety than amusement) and mused, "Was it really _that_ obvious?"

"Well, to those men, I doubt it was. But to me, or to anyone else who may have been watching, yes," he answered. Once again an uncomfortable silence drifted over them, but it didn't last long. "I'm so sorry, Alyssa," Erik murmured. "I should have defended you sooner. I apologize."

Alyssa gawked at him, then laughed again, this time out of disbelief. "Why the hell are _you_ sorry? It's not your fault. If anything, I should be in debt to you for defending me at all, Erik. I honestly don't know what I would have done without you. I just... I freeze in situations like that. So thank you, noble knight, for coming to my rescue." She hurriedly threw the last part in there to change the subject and make the situation more humorous, and Erik could sense it immediatly. He decided to play along with it, though, since he had little to gain from pressuring her.

"Not at all, princess." He took her hand and bowed over it, then after a moment they both chuckled. Alyssa felt a weird sensation flow through her at his suavity, but subconsciously pushed it away before it even had time to settle in.

"Um, Erik, can we go back to your home?" she asked suddenly.

"If you would like to, _mon ch_é_ri_," As they kept walking, Erik noticed that, curiously enough, Alyssa seemed to be leaning into him as they walked. _It must be the crowd. She doesn't want any more men to come to her looking for unchaste services._ He tried in vain to not ponder over it as they walked. He had no intention of saying anything about it, though, lest Alyssa think he meant something by bringing it up.

* * *

Meanwhile, both William and Charlie walked out of the music shop, one rather sore about what he considered to be Alyssa's deciet, the other thoughtfully quiet.

"Oh, for God's sake, shut up! You're enough to drive anyone insane, William!" Charlie snapped after a long time. "Stop griping about that damn girl! She's not important! ...Think, though. Did you see that man she was with?"

William rolled his eyes. "Of course I did, you idiot! He wasn't even that good-looking, that's for sure. I mean, he even wore a mask! What kind of self-respecting man wears a mask like that?"

A groan of frustration met his words. "You imbecile! Yes, he had a mask! And do you realize why?" At his companion's confused look, Charlie continued. "That's him. The one they all talk about. That's the Phantom, the Opera Ghost who haunted the Opera Populaire!" William was silent as the knowledge slowly settled in.

"Do you think it's him?" he inquired. "Do you think it's _really _him?"

Charlie nodded once. "They're probably too far on their way for us to find them now, unfortunately. But that girl, she's quite obviously very close to him. As they walked away, did you notice that she had a rose etched into her skin on the back of her neck?"

"Into her _skin_?"

"Yes, her skin. It was a rose, or a picture of one anyway. We'll have to remember that, and should we ever find a girl with a rose on her neck... well, we won't stand around talking about sleeping with her, now will we?"

Cooperating for once, William shook his head. "They're offering a large reward for his capture," Charlie spoke. "The Phantom, I mean. That girl-- if we can capture her somehow, perhaps the Phantom would be willing to trade his imprisonment for her freedom. ...William, this won't be the last we see of them, I swear it."

* * *

**And the plot thickens. Dun Dun DUN. Hope you liked the chapter, next one's coming in a day or so as soon as I can get it typed. I humbly request reviews, though in all fairness I'm not quite worthy.**


	12. Snowball

**Yay! I actually kept a promise to update soon! Yeah, I feel like a scummy Authoress, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Read and review, please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO. Yeah, I said it, I said it...**

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"Wake up, Alyssa," Erik whispered quietly, shaking her shoulder. Alyssa groaned and pulled the covers higher, her eyes fluttering behind their lids but not opening. With a small sigh, Erik took a pillow and smacked her upside the head with it, though softly enough so as not to harm her.

Alyssa groaned again, but this time it was clear that she was getting up. "God dammit, Erik. Why do you have to wake me this early?" she snapped as she sat up sluggishly. "I swear, I haven't had a good night's sleep since I got here."

"On the contrary, _mademoiselle,_" Erik laughed, emphasizing the last word, "it is nearly ten in the morning. You must consider a good night's sleep to be over a week long, _non_? ...However, since we had plans to go out today, I suggest that you get up and get ready. You know how long it takes you to bathe. We'll be lucky if we get out of here at all, now that I think about it."

Chuckling slightly, Alyssa had to agree with him. She was wearing a new nightgown, one that Erik had bought for her many weeks prior and wasn't so small. Alyssa yawned and smoothed down the satin material.

"Remind me of where we're going, Erik," she murmured, running a hand through her hair.

"Well, we didn't actually figure out _where_ we were going to go, but rather simply decided that we were going _somewhere._ Perhaps a simple walk through the park woud be appropriate. We can get breakfast at a cafe along the way, if that's all right. Oh, and I almost forgot... tonight I have a surprise for you."

Now it was Alyssa's turn to laugh. "Okay, then. I suppose I can't argue." She paused for a moment, then gave him a sly yet accusatory look. "So what are you still doing here?" she snapped, her tone hard. "Enjoying the view, are you? Don't you have any respect? Or am I to assume it's okay for men to linger in the rooms of their women friends when they are not dressed?"

Erik's eyes widened in shock. "Alyssa, I-... this is my room! And _you_ were the one encouraging conversation! If not for that, you know I would have-"

He stopped suddenly as Alyssa burst out laughing again. "It's okay, Erik. I know. I was just messing with you." Erik sighed to himself, immensely relieved that another conflict with Alyssa was not brewing. He looked up as she quietly whispered in a teasing voice, "You seemed to get a little _too_ flustered, though, if you know what I mean..." One of her eyebrows was raised playfully.

With perfect suavity as usual, Erik slipped closer to her, and twirled a lock of her hair about his finger as he murmured, "Alyssa, any man willing to fall in love with you would have to be mad, or at the very least accustomed to fighting a raging battle to wake you up every morning." She scoffed at him with a smile on her face, then retired to the bathroom and shut the door. A small click followed as she locked it.

_She still doesn't trust me,_ Erik thought as he slowly wandered to his organ. _Not completely, at any rate. Though at least she's not afraid to be around me. That's more than I thought I'd ever have, someone who doesn't mind being around me, who calls me their friend. _

After flexing his fingers, Erik began to play. His music reverberated perfectly on the walls of his home, one of the reasons why he loved it so much. A smile crossed his face and his eyes slid shut as his fingers flew over the keys in a frenzy.

All at once, he came to a complete stop. His ears were ringing with the sound of his music, and his hands were still poised over the organ, but now he heard something else.

_"...But now there's nowhere to hide_

_Since you've pushed my love aside_

_I'm out of my head_

_Hopelessly devoted to you..."_

A soft, gentle voice, with the tiniest hint of an echo to it. Erik stood up and hesitated for a moment, then sprinted back to his own room. Curious, he pressed his ear to the wood of the bathroom door.

_"My head is saying "fool, forget him",  
My heart is saying "don't let go"  
Hold on to the end, that's what I intend to do  
I'm hopelessly devoted to you  
But now there's nowhere to hide,  
Since you pushed my love aside I'm not in my head,  
Hopelessly devoted to you..."_ Erik's eyes opened wide as Alyssa's voice carried to him. The structure of the bathroom echoed her notes just slightly, and whilst her voice was nowhere close to perfect, it still sounded... nice.

"I didn't know she sang," he whispered to himself, falling silent as she continued.

Alyssa rinsed her hair out quickly, still unused to the freezing water, but she never stopped singing. When she was done, she got out, drained the water out of the tub, then covered her body in a silk robe (that, of course, had been purchased for her by Erik). Not once missing a beat of her song, she opened the door and stepped out.

To her surprise, the door swung shut to reveal Erik standing behind it. Alyssa jumped and clutched her robe tighter.

"Why didn't you tell me that you sang?" Erik asked, gazing at her curiously. Alyssa was still too shocked to get out a complete sentence.

"Wh-why? What's the big d-... I hate my voice."

Erik smiled. "I think you sound lovely. Have you ever taken lessons?"

"Say what?" Alyssa questioned. Erik was about to elaborate when she suddenly interrupted. "You know what? Let's talk about this... some other time. You know, like when I'm not merely wearing a robe."

Her arms were still crossed over her chest, but when she moved, one of her legs was exposed up to the thigh. Swiftly Alyssa clutched the sides of the robe and pulled it closed.

"I... apologize, Alyssa. Please forgive me. I tend to get... well, I tend to lose all common sense... when I hear music like that. It really was beautiful. I... sorry." Erik ducked out of the room, trying to block out the image of her bare leg. It had reminded him of a time when Christine had done something simliar. And yet, it was so different. But it filled him with that same feeling, that same burning desire...

_No. Stop it! Don't think about her so... so disrespectfully! Don't think about-_

"All right, Erik. I'm dressed now. Sorry I snapped at you earlier. It was just a bit of shock. Usually I only sing when I'm alone, but... yeah." Alyssa stepped into the room, running her fingers through her freshly combed hair again.

Shaking his head, Erik muttered, "Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have been listening like that. You're obviously very secretive, or uncomfortable, about the subject of your voice, so we don't need to ever bring it up again." Alyssa gave him a grateful smile, and he offered his hand out to her. "We should probably go now, though. The park is rather close, but there may be more that we want to see. Besides, we haven't even had breakfast yet.

Alyssa laughed. "You made it sound earlier as though you had _no idea _of what we were to do today. So much for that. ...Ah, well. Let's hit the road before we get _off schedule_."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, both satisfied and feeling extremely peaceful, Erik and Alyssa walked down a neat dirt path through the park. The sun shone bright through the twisted branches above, throwing beautiful patterns of light to the ground.

"It's so pretty out here," Alyssa remarked, gazing at the brilliant piles of snow along their path (it seemed like someone had swept the snow to each side). Erik nodded, though he didn't feel that it was all too special. To him, the dark was much more lovely.

In fact, had Alyssa not been there, chances were he wouldn't even be outside (_Or, indeed, alive, _Erik thought grimly to himself). He knew that he was only doing this to make her happy. The snow reflected the sunlight cruelly, sending unpleasant blinding glares almost everywhere. Erik put a hand in front of his eyes to reduce the white light.

Suddenly something collided with the unmasked side of his face, shocking him and almost causing him to lose his balance. He put a hand to the side of his face, and as he did so, icy water and slush dripped down his neck.

"What the hell?" Erik wiped the snow off his face, shivering as some of it trailed down the back of his shirt. Alyssa laughed and threw another snowball, one that Erik narrowly evaded. "Oh, is that how you want to play?" Erik asked as he gathered a snowball of his own. His fingers went numb as he molded it into a sphere. Patiently he waited for Alyssa to come into sight, but after a few seconds he decided to go hunt for her. He found her hiding in the shelter of a tree, and snuck up behind her.

"Oh, shit!" Alyssa exclaimed as he silently stuffed the ice down her back. Now it was his turn to laugh as she flipped her head forward to shake the slush out. "Erik, you bastard!" she gasped, but she was smiling. She giggled and gave him a playful shove with her shoulder, and he bent down and scooped up another handful of snow.

Alyssa's eyes widened for a moment, then she turned around swiftly and began to run. Erik dropped the ice and took off after her, feeling like he could capture the exhilarating euphoria of the moment and keep it in a bottle that would be forever warm and bright. Or at least wishing he could.

"Caught you," he murmured, catching Alyssa's hand and spinning her around. One of her legs accidentally entwined with his, and they both lost their balance. Quickly Erik put his hands to either side of her, and luckily he was able to break his own fall without landing on her.

Their eyes met for a moment, and all notions of getting up were forgotten. Alyssa breathed deeply, and Erik felt her chest rise and meet his. Mouth slightly agape, he could do naught but stare at her, and she could only stare back. For a long time they lie there, lost in their thoughts and in the moment itself.

"I... I'm sorry," Erik whispered, suddenly coming to his senses and lifting himself to his knees. Alyssa smiled, and a small cloud of mist fanned before her momentarily as she let out a breath.

Erik removed his coat and offered it to her, giving her a look that forbid her to not take it. She slipped it on gratefully, and muttered a quiet, "Thank you."

Both of them felt an unexplainable urge to stare at each other like they had, to somehow slip back into that moment, but they were too confused and shy to say anything. They spent a few seconds in an uncomfortable, awkward silence, each trying to analyze what they'd felt just a minute before.

Finally Erik cleared his throat. "Well, that was... fun. Thank you, Alyssa."

"Uh, don't mention it," she mumbled, chuckling slightly. "...So, what should we do now?" They met each other's gazes again, but were strangely disappointed to find that the sensation was gone.

"We can go back home now, and have an early dinner, if you would like. Or a late lunch, if you'd prefer to call it that. When it gets dark, I have a surprise for you."

Alyssa shook the snowflakes out of her hair. "Please tell me what it is? I'm not at all patient, and this one's driving me crazy! What is it, Erik?"

But Erik refused to tell her. "No, I can't, my dear. If I did, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it? It's only something that I want to show you, though. I think you'll like it. Or at least, I hope you will."

With a small sigh, Alyssa stood up. "Don't worry, Erik. I'm sure I'll like it. Since I don't know what it is- hint, hint!- I can't say for sure... but if you're going to the trouble of even showing me something as a surprise, I'm sure I'll enjoy it." She paused for a moment, and then pleaded, "Oh, come on! Tell me what it is!"

"No. I'm not telling you. No matter how you beg and plead."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Fine, then," she scoffed. "Be like that." At the look in Erik's eyes, though, she added a quick, "Just kidding," and waited for him to stand, too.

Erik tentatively took her hand, and then together they started to walk back toward the opera house.

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**I hope you guys liked that. Please review! Sorry, but I don't have time to say much else. I'll update again soon!**


	13. Surprise

**Hello again. I've been grounded, which is of course why I haven't updated, so now that I'm finally free, I can update! Yay! And a note to you all: Talking back isn't a good thing, no matter how good it feels at the time. Trust me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO!**

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"All right, Alyssa. Calm down. I suppose it's dark enough now," Erik gave in at last. For the past hour, Alyssa had been badgering him nonstop about the surprise (and had actually started to get rather annoying), her being as impatient as she was. Now she smiled, though, glad that her curiousity was about to be satisfied, and Erik donned his cloak and motioned for her to get in the boat. Carefully Alyssa seated herself on the cushion, and then he stepped in behind her. He grabbed the pole and began to propel the watercraft forward.

"The water looks so beautiful," Alyssa murmured, her head resting lightly on one hand as she gazed at the tiny ripples made by the boat as Erik poled it forward.

"It isn't anything compared to what I want to show you," Erik replied. Alyssa fell silent, staring at the glassy surface of the water with half-shut eyes, and she sighed quietly.

After a while of slowly poling it forward, Erik stopped the boat. "Here we are," he muttered. "Now it's only a bit of a walk." He got out and held Alyssa's hand as she followed. Their footsteps made barely a sound as he led her down the many passages.

Before long they came to the back of the mirror that had once been Christine's. Erik expertly slid the glass into the side of the gold frame and ushered Alyssa through the room. She followed hi quickly,though she secretly wished that he would let her look around for a while. In the months that she'd been living with Erik, he had never taken her here, into the actual opera house, and she was already intruiged.

"Why are we going this way, Erik?" she asked, looking around incredulously. "You've never taken me here before." She was stunned to find that some of the walls looked charred, as though they'd been burned.

"This is the only way to get where we want to go," Erik replied simply. He opened a door and led Alyssa up a flight of stairs, around a small (again, seemingly burned) walkway, then up more stairs. Alyssa was just beginning to get tired (_What the hell does Erik consider to be a _bit _of a walk?_) when she saw that they had reached an iron door.

"Alyssa, close your eyes for a second," Erik commanded softly. Alyssa groaned, but eventually she complied and did what he asked.

The metal hinges of the door creaked as it opened, and Erik gently guided her outside. The air was cold, and made tiny bumps spring up all over her skin, but Alyssa did not so much as shiver. She held Erik's arm as he directed her down a few steps.

"Just a little farther now. Keep your eyes closed," he muttered in her ear. Alyssa was about to go insane, but at last Erik allowed her to open her eyes. She gasped quietly the moment that she did.

"Oh my god..." she breathed, her hand coming up to her mouth at the sight before her. Once, when she was very young, her uncle had sent her a postcard with the skyline of Paris on the front. She had adored it as a child, and dreamed of one day seeing the real thing for herself. Now there it was, right in front of her. It was the most beautiful view of anything she'd ever seen. Of course, there was no Eiffel Tower (since, as Alyssa knew, it hadn't been built yet), but it hardly mattered. Alyssa took a step back, nearly overwhelmed, and then she looked up at the sky. Stars spread above her endlessly, sparkling diamonds against the black velvet darkness, and she smiled.

Then suddenly Alyssa heard the soft sound of music, and slowly she turned around. Erik was standing a few feet behind her, and now a violin was carefully balanced on his shoulder. His eyes werealmost shut as he passionately moved the bow back and forth across the strings, spinning the web of an entrancing melody. It made Alyssa want to cry and laugh, scream and stay silent, and jump around and go to sleep, all at the same time. However, she contented herself with simply staring out at the skyline of Paris, swaying ever so slightly to the music.

Erik's eyes wandered over the ground, though he didn't really see anything. He concentrated on only the song he played, and he was so focused that it seemed to Alyssa like he cared about nothing else in the world. But then suddenly he looked at her, and, though he never skipped a beat of the melody, she somehow felt that she was wrong in thinking so. It was something she saw in his eyes.

Finally the song came to an end, and Alyssa clapped softly and grinned as Erik lowered his violin. He bowed, and then carefully set the instument back into its case, which was lying on the ground beside him.

"That was... beautiful," Alyssa whispered, staring at Erik as he straightened up.

"Thank you, _mon ami_," he muttered. He swiftly removed his cloak in one smooth, mystical gesture, and set it about Alyssa's shoulders, then he suddenly took her hand and led her over to a statue on the edge of the roof. "The view should be better from up here," he explained, climbing atop the back of the rearing horse made of stone. He turned and extended a hand to Alyssa, who clambered up after him.

Of course, Erik was right. Now Alyssa couldn't even see the rooftop of the opera house, and it seemed as though she was merely suspended between the city and the sky. She took a deep breath and glanced down at the ground below, but the shock of seeing how high up she was made her hurriedly withdraw her head.

"Do you like it?" Erik asked, adjusting his position on the statue and leaning against the stone wing of an angel. Alyssa copied him before answering.

Her eyes were as bright as the stars as she breathed, "I... love it. It's so amazing. I mean, it's like, the most beautiful view I've ever seen. Thank you so much, Erik."

"I thought you might like it," Erik murmured, gazing at the city. "You seem to enjoy things like this. I'm not sure how to word it. ...Simple, I suppose. But elegant. You seem to enjoy simple but elegant things." A half-smile crossed his face, and he sighed. "I haven't been up here in... such a long time." The memory of the last time he had been there suddenly hit his mind sharply, and he shook his head in sadness.

Alyssa turned to look at him, and saw that his eyes had become glassy. "What's the matter, Erik?" she questioned. "You look like you're going to cry." Erik shook his head again.

"Nothing is wrong, Alyssa. It must be a trick of the light." He stared at her for a second, trying to appear as sincere as he could, and at last Alyssa shrugged. Erik could sense a rather annoyed (or depressed, it was hard to tell) air about her, so he quickly mumbled, "Alyssa, I need your help." Quickly Alyssa snapped to attention. "No, it's not that," Erik added hurriedly, "I just... if I ever do something- anything at all- that one of your other friends from your time wouldn't do, then I'd like it if you'd please tell me."

"Why?"

"Because... I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything. I can't really say that I've had a real friend before, as pitiful as that sounds, so I don't really know how to act. On top of that, I have no idea how anyone from your time would behave. The only example I have, of course, is you. I want you to help me be more like your other friends, so that I can make you more comfortable."

Still staring into Erik's eyes, Alyssa smiled. "But I don't _want_ you to be just like them, Erik. I'm your friend because I'm fine with the way you act _now._ And, okay, I don't have much choice, given my situation, but that's beside the point. I'm not uncomfortable around you, Erik. Maybe I was before, but come on. I thought you were a freak slash kidnapper slash rapist! No offence, of course. What I'm trying to say is... Erik, you don't have to be more like my other friends. You're fine just being you."

Erik nodded once, his eyes downcast and away from Alyssa. _Fine... just being me... _A strange sensation sparked through him, but he shrugged it off. "Thank you," he murmured. There was a moment of silence before he asked, "Alyssa, would you mind leaning against me?"

"Umm... why?" Alyssa was taken aback.

"You have my cloak, and it _is _snowing."

It took a couple of seconds, but at last Alyssa gave in. "Fine, I will. It's weird, I mean, cause... you know, that's the sort of thing that couples would do."

With a small sigh, Erik replied, "Yes, that may be, Alyssa. Then again, you and I are both fully aware of the fact that our relationship does not exceed friendship, and there's no one around to tell us differently, now is there?" One of his eyebrows raised ever so slightly, and Alyssa tilted her head a little to the side.

"You're such a dork, Erik," she smiled, then she gingerly scooted toward him and laid her torso against his. He chose not to react to what she'd called him, since he wasn't in the mood for an explanation of any futuristic words.

For a long time they sat there, gazing at the stars and the city below. Erik soon felt very warm, and he gave a small sigh of contentment. It was almost another hour before either of the two spoke.

"How long are we staying out here?" Alyssa asked quietly after what seemed like forever to her. Her eyelids were beginning to droop, though she fought as hard as she could to stay awake. She loved being where she was, staring at the billions of stars and hundreds of city lights, rested softly against Erik's chest.

Erik turned his head and looked at her. "I was planning on staying out here for a while longer. Are you getting tired, Alyssa?" He did not wait for an answer. "You do look it. Well, in that case I suppose we can-"

"No, no," Alyssa interrupted. "We can stay out here. I'll stay awake, I'm sure."

"Well, I don't want you to fight it. If you do fall asleep, I can always take you back myself. It all depends on what you want to do."

Alyssa considered it for a moment. "We don't have to go back _now, _but if I do fall asleep you can wake me up if need be. You pick for once, Erik. I feel guilty making all the decisions."

"All right, then. We'll stay, and if you fall asleep I'll carry you. I wouldn't dream of waking you. That's too much of a battle for this late at night."

Both of them laughed at this, then they fell silent again. Erik hesitantly put an arm around Alyssa, and was strangely pleased when she did not protest. Her hair was soft against his cheek, which he gently lay upon her once she had lost all consciousness, and he smiled.

For the second time, Erik felt warmth spread through his chest, but this time Alyssa's shared body heat had nothing to do with it.

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**Jeez, freedom never felt so good. Please review, and I promise I won't get grounded again any time soon! **


	14. Nightmare

**Finally we are introduced to the darker side of Alyssa's past. And be warned, it's not pretty. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PotO.**

_

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It was dark. Dark, but not cold. Heat, like the Devil himself igniting fires inside her body. Heavy, panting breath, smelling disgustedly of beer and tobacco. No moonlight, no struggle, no escape. _

_How did it end up like this? What had she done wrong? Why couldn't she make him stop? Why couldn't she do anything? Why couldn't she see?_

_Suddenly a beam of light from an opening door. There he was, walking out of the room. Leaving her lying alone in the dark. Taking her innocence with him.

* * *

_

Erik woke up much earlier than he intended.As he sat up, wondering why this was (after he was awake enough to think, of course), hewas stunned to heara very strange mumble of words coming from Alyssa's room. As quickly as he could he sprang to his feet and dashed into his room and to her bedside.

"No... Robbie... please, no... stop... I don't want..." Alyssa was lying in a tangled pile of sheets, trembling violently and occasionally giving a small lurch. Every inch of her body was covered in sweat, and patches of her skin were very oddly colored in ways that Erik was sure were not healthy.

"Oh god!" he shouted, and he leapt onto the bed. He grabbed Alyssa's hands and pinned them down, straddling her stomach, and she cringed in her sleep. Holding her down as well as he could, Erik tried to wake her. "Alyssa, calm down! Wake up! Please!" When his attempts failed, he got off her and ran into the bathroom, turning the tap for the sink. He cupped his hands and caught water in them, then kicked the door open wider and threw the liquid on Alyssa's shaking body.

Alyssa sat up and gave a desperate, loud cry. Erik turned the water off and hurried to her side. Her chest rose and fell dramatically as she breathed, staring straight ahead with wide, fearful eyes. Sitting beside her on the bed, Erik softly whispered her name, and she turned and looked at him, gradually calming down but still looking frightened.

"What happened?" Erik asked, holding her fingers tightly in his own.

"I... nightmare... Robbie..." Alyssa managed, swallowing thickly and wiping the sweat from her forehead. Erik stared at her intently, concern in every line of his face.

He gulped and questioned, "Robbie? Who is he? ...Alyssa, who is Robbie?" He was desperate for answers to what had affected her so.

But Alyssa merely tried to avoid the subject. "No one. He's... no one. It was just a dream. I'm okay."

Erik shook his head and gripped her shoulders, forcing her body to face him even though she turned her head away. "No, Alyssa. I don't believe that. Don't lie to me. Who is Robbie?"

Alyssa stayed quiet, refusing to answer him, and Erik was forced to shake her. He was careful not to hurt her, though, and only get her attention.

"Damn it, Alyssa, tell me! Who is he? Tell me!"

"Stop it!I hate youyelling at me!" Alyssa cried, pushing him away and scooting in the opposite direction.

No matter how hard Erik tried to be calm, he couldn't. His concern for Alyssa made worry ensnare his heart and mind. "I'm yelling at you because I'm worried about you!" he shouted, exasperated. "That was no ordinary nightmare! What happened? Please! ...Please... Alyssa..." Erik extended his hand, but he couldn't lay it upon her shoulder; she had moved too far. "Tell me what troubles you."

The sheer, uncovered desperation was easy to see in his eyes, and Alyssa felt the barriers she had built up around her heart naturally melt. She moved closer and lightly touched Erik's hand.

"Erik, I... I wish I could, but... Erik, please don't. Try to understand, I... I... okay, dammit! I'll tell you! But please... don't judge me... based on what I'm about to tell you." Erik raised his head and stared at her, and she continued. "...Robbie was my boyfriend. You know, back in 2005. Well, actually he was my ex-boyfriend. I know this probably isn't making any sense to you, but, basically, we were a couple. He had a reputation of being a bit of a pervert, but I didn't listen to anyone but him. It was so... _so_ stupid of me, and I don't know why I did it, but-"

"People in love usually tend to overlook a lot. Love makes people blind," Erik interrupted.

Alyssa nodded, then kept talking. "Well, one night he took me to a party one of his friends was having, and... there were drinks going around, alcoholic drinks, of course, and... well, Robbie got pretty drunk. He came up to me after a while- I wasn't drinking, by the way- and he asked me if I wanted to..." Alyssa shuddered, and Erik guessed the words she didn't say.

He waited for her to speak, then whispered, "He asked if you wanted to make love with him?"

Alyssa nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Before you get any ideas, though, know that I refused him. I didn't want to have sex with him at all. Like, no way. So I told him that, and he backed off, and I thought it was the end of it. Later on, I asked him to get me a non-alcoholic drink, and he did. It didn't taste different _at all, _but before long I started feeling really funny. It was hard to stand and move and stuff, as though I didn't have complete control over what my body was doing. Robbie asked me if something was wrong, and when I told him how I felt, he smiled and took me away from everyone else, into a dark, dark room... and he... well, I'm pretty sure you can... guess what he did."

Erik's eyes widened considerably. "Oh, god... Alyssa, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."

Suddenly Alyssa burst into tears. "I never told anyone before, Erik. I j-just tried t-to make it seem like nothing ever happened. I mean, thank _god_ I didn't get pregnant. I just... I remember it was so horrible. It was like I could _see _what was happening to my body, but I was powerless to act against it. Like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. Now I feel so... guilty. It's _my _body, and I should have protected it. I failed myself. I failed myself, Erik!"

As she bowed her head and tears rolled down her face, Erik felt a sudden sensation of the ultimate sadness and pity hit him. Alyssa had been raped. She had actually been _raped._ He couldn't believe it. No wonder she had been so frightened when he had assaulted her, and when those two boys in the musidc shop had attempted to take her away.

"Listen to me, Alyssa," he murmured. "You didn't fail yourself. What that boy did to you is no fault of yours. There is no way you could have known what he planned to do. The situation was out of your hands. The only person at fault here is Robbie. _He's _the one who sexually assaulted _you._ So... don't blame yourself. I know that nothing I say could ever take the pain away, but still... I need you to look at me and tell me that it wasn't your fault."

"Why do I have to look at you when I say it?"

A small smile ghosted through Erik's features. "Your eyes will tell me if you truly believe your own words or not."

Alyssa looked up and grinned weakly as well. Even at the most inoppurtune moments, he was still radiant with charm. "Okay... just give me a second." Erik retrieved a handkerchief out of the nightstand drawer again, and Alyssa accepted it gratefully. He waited patiently while she dabbed at her eyes. "Right..." Alyssa raised her head and took a deep, rather shaky breath. "That incident... wasn't my fault, Erik. It was that stupid son of a bitch Robbie's." She then began to laugh, more out of relief than amusement, and Erik gave her a relaxed smile.

For some reason, though, he wanted to help her in another way than just verbally. He thought about it for a minute, then suddenly realized what he could do. It wasn't an unorthdox method to any normal person's standards, but he was shocked with his boldness as he asked, "Alyssa, may I... hold you?" Both his voice and the look in his eyes were incredibly timid. Immediately he regretted asking that, for he was sure she would refuse him and knew he wouldn't find beign refused to his pleasure.

"Please," she whimpered all of the sudden, much to his surprise. Erik was taken aback, but nevertheless reached out, grasped Alyssa's forearms, and pulled her to his chest. He held her tightly as she broke down into tears again.

"Cry as much as you need to, Alyssa," he consoled. "Don't hold yourself back, or you'll never fully get this burden off your chest. I'll tell you this, though. You have been so strong this whole time. So many people would have fallen into despair after going through what you did, but you were strong enough to smile and laugh again. That is _amazing_. ...Okay, okay, my dear. Everything will be all right. It's okay. I'm... here."

Normally when met with those words, Alyssa would have given the person a sharp retort, such as "How is that supposed to help?" However, she simply kept her mouth shut and looped her arms around Erik's neck, pressing herself closer to him. For some reason, it _did _help that he was there. More than she could have ever expected or wanted. She was really, _really_ glad that Erik was there.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been recently struggling with my parents for the rights to use the laptop ion my room so that I can get more writing done... and it's been quite a debate. One that I haven't won yet, which sucks. Wish me luck!**


	15. Rage

**Ah! The long-overdue update. I'd usually start on some long ramblig excuse now, but when it all comes down to it, I just didn't update soon enough. My sincerest apologies, I will try to get better as the summer progresses.**

**Disclaimer... Oh, forget it. This is the last one I'm typing. From this chapter on, bear in mind that I just don't own Phantom of the Opera!**

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Later that night, Erik sighed as he sat alone on his chaise lounge. He stared aimlessly into the darkness, not really seeing what he was looking at, with his shirt half-open and still fairly damp from Alyssa's tears. He had long since put her to bed by singing a soft, rather meaningless lullaby to her in graceful Italian, letting the words slip off his tongue like water. She had allowed him to sit beside her as she fell asleep, listening to the words she didn't understand. Erik could have sworn that the tiniest hint of a smile had been on her lips as she lost consciousness, and he had continued singing even after he knew she was dreaming.

_Poor Alyssa, _he thought, adjusting his position on the lounge. _She loved him, and that stupid boy just used her. _Erik sighed. He hated people like that, people who used words of love to get something exceptionally different. _But... she let me hold her. Alyssa let me sing her to sleep and stay beside her as she dreamt. No one has ever let me do that before. Well, at least not willingly. Christine... passed out after she saw my figure of her. That's different. _Erik chuckled in spite of himself at how much those thoughts sounded like something Alyssa would say. He had to admit (however unwillingly) that she was definitely rubbing off on him.

After a minute, Erik stood up, since he felt rather unable to sit still. He quietly walked to his room, being careful to not wake Alyssa. Slowly he crossed the room to stand beside the bed.

The barest hint of a smile graced his expression as his eyes took her in. He stood in a dignified silence as he watched her sleep, hardly even blinking. Eventually his gaze settled on the curves of her chest, and as he observed how they moved as she breathed, Erik found himself absentmindedly imagining rather... _interesting_ things.

Suddenly he shook himself violently back to his senses as he realized what he was doing. He looked at Alyssa's sleeping form with wide, horrified eyes, then mentally cursed himself violently and quickly left the room.

_What the _hell_ was I thinking? How could I possibly _dare _to imagine... How could I think of her so indecently? I'm a Devil's Child! I'm a monster, a demon! How dare I imagine such things? ...I'm forgetting what I am. I'm beginning to think of myself as a normal person, deserving of such things!_

"...But I'm not. I don't deserve... anything. Only a painful, slow death. I'm worthless. A corpse. A demon. The Devil's Child..." Erik's eyes grew hard. "God, I need to get out of here." He took a deep breath and gave his room one last longing glance.

_Stop it! Don't think about that, just leave and find yourself a painful death, you demon! _"You demon," Erik repeated, cursing himself harshly afterword. He shook his head in both frustration and agony, then, knowing that he was more likely to change his mind altogether the longer he delayed, he strode purposefully over to the covered passageway and pulled the velvet curtain aside. He stared for a second into the blackness of the corridor, then walked into it without a moment's hesitation.

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Something was wrong. Alyssa could sense it immediately as she sat up straight in bed. A nagging feeling tugged at her heart, refusing to let go, and after a minute she worriedly threw the covers to the side and stood up. Being careful not to make any noise, Alyssa crept to the opening of the room. She looked around cautiously, in case Erik was half-naked or something, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Where'd he go? _she wondered to herself, and as she pondered for a moment, something moved in the corner of her eye. The curtain covering the labyrinth was swaying slightly. Since she knew that there was obviously no breeze underground that could have disturbed it's stillness, she ran over to it.

"Erik?" she called, not too loudly because of some strange fear deep within her. Her eyes cautiously attempted to penetrate the labyrinth's darkness, but she could see nothing. Needless to say, that did naught to calm her nerves.

..._Well, he did say that nothing in the labyrinth could ever hurt me... so... I guess it's okay... _Without a second thought lest she also change her mind, Alyssa entered the labyrinth.

The silence was almost deafening as she walked, as though an invisible pillow was pressed over her ears. That in itself was almost enough to drive her insane, but she was determined to find out where Erik had gone and if he was okay. It was too dark to see anything, either before or behind her, and yet even that was not enough to steer her away from her mission. However, it suddenly hit Alyssa after a few minutes that she was... inevitably lost.

"Oh, shit!" she cursed, striking the wall beside her helplessly with her fist. An intense feeling of terror set in quickly, and a tremor shook through her. "Shit! What the _hell_ was I thinking? ...Didn't even bring a stupid candle, god dammit! What the hell am I doing here?" She sank to the floor, leaning her head despairingly against the wall. "Erik!" she yelled. "Erik, answer me, dammit!" There was no answer to her cries, and Alyssa felt a single tear of panic slide down her cheek, one which she wiped away angrily.

Erik hurried through the corridors, trying hard to purge his mind of all thought. Whenever some kind of rational thought threatened to enter his mind, he dismissed it swiftly and sped up, until he was nearly sprinting. At last he slowed to a relaxed walk, once he was assured that he wasn't going to turn back.

Suddenly he stopped walking altogether, his mind a blur of confusion. _But I've... left her all alone, _he thought._ In _my_ home. Not only that, but even if she somehow managed to get out, she doesn't know much about Paris _or_ this era. ...Have I... comdemned her to death? By leaving her, have I somehow indirectly _killed_ her? Should I go back after all?_

"No," Erik whispered darkly, shaking his head. "She'll be better off. I don't deserve to be around her, and she deserves better than to be around someone like me. She'll be better-"  
"Erik!" He jumped as the cry echoed violently throughout the passageway, and turned around, half expecting to see Alyssa behind him. But no, it was merely the acoustics of his labyrinth. In his mind, he knew that she was actually far away. _Oh, God... she sounds like she's in pain! _All thoughts of running away now forgotten, Erik began sprinting in the other direction, back toward his home.

_"'Cause I struggle with forward motion,_

_I struggle with forward motion._

_We all struggle with forward motion..._

_'Cause forward motion is harder than it sounds_

_Well every time I gain some ground_

_I gotta turn myself around again..." _Alyssa softly half-whispered, half-sang the lyrics to herself, feeling eeriely calmer as she did so. Dried tear streaks covered her face, which was pressed harshly to her knees as she huddled on the ground. It was such a childish thing, to be scared of the dark, yet the pitch-blackness that surrounded her was enough to make anyone terrified, she was sure.

"...Erik..." she breathed, shivering in both fear and loss of heat. The only thing keeping her from going utterly mad was the thought that he would come back for her, the fantasy that he wouldn't let her die in this horrible labyrinth. However, as the minutes ticked by without sign of him, her thoughts became darker and more sinister in nature.

"Alyssa!" She started and gasped as a pair of hands grasped her forearms tightly. Her head snapped up upon reflex, and it collided rather forcefully with Erik's chin. He moved away quickly, a hand cupping his chin, and she massaged the crown of her scalp, the realization that he was there hitting her slowly.

"Damn it, Erik..." Alyssa tried to keep her voice steady, but she knew it was going to crack. The moment it did, she threw her arms around Erik's neck. "You... you b-bastard! What the he-hell were you thinking?" Erik gave her shadowy figure a quizzical look for a moment, yet found that he enjoyed immensely the way she held him. His right hand moved involuntarily to the small of her back, and he pulled her a little closer.

She trembled softly in his arms, which he took as a signal to hold her tighter. Her body heat was inviting in ways that he tried to control, yet after a few seconds he felt a fierce lusting take hold of him, and pushed her away, perhaps a little less gently than usual.

"Erik, what the hell?" Alyssa bumped back against the wall slightly and eyed Erik's dark figure with a disbelieving glare.

"Listen, Alyssa, I need you to go back. Don't question me, just go."

Alyssa scoffed, angered by his commanding tone. "No, I'm not just going to go back and leave you. What's the matter? Seriously, if I did something, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what it is! Come back with me... and, I don't know, we'll work this out, okay? Please?"

She moved forward and touched Erik's arm softly, but he shrugged her off. "Damn it, Alyssa," he cursed, his voice sounding strained and full of hurt. "I'm not asking you to leave, I'm telling you! Go back, now! You... deserve better than to be around someone... like me..."

"And what makes you think that?" Alyssa asked, feeling a little relieved in spiteof herself at the fact that he was sharing his (rather ridiculous, in her opinion) concerns with her.

A sudden rage took hold of Erik, mixed with panic and fear. He whipped a single match out of his pocket, and struck it against the wall. "You want to know why, my dear? Well, do you? All right, then!" Staring at Alyssa's curious eyes in the flickering light of the tiny flame, he reached up and tore his mask away from his face.

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**Ooh, dun dun dun! Cliffy!**

**Don't worry, as long as you review, you'll get an update in a day or two, I promise. PhantomAngel will make sure of that, right my friend?**


	16. Retribution

**OMG! Okay, I have like a reeeaallyy exciting story to tell you guys, and it's SOO exciting that I'm gonna save it for the end of this chapter. Oh, you're all gonna FLIP!**

**Oh, and the end of this chappy's going to get some interesting reactions, enjoy!**

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As hard as she tried, Alyssa couldn't stop her eyes from widening ever so slightly in horror. When Erik saw them, his own widened for the briefest second in disbelief. Angrily he threw the match to the ground and stepped on it, drowning the corridor in darkness again. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and stormed away. 

"There!" he shouted, slowing his pace but not looking back. "Now you have seen the terrifying face if the Opera Ghost! You are disgusted, _non?_" He laughed sadistically, but in his heart he had never felt so sad.

Alyssa stared straight ahead as he walked away. Her chest rose and fell as her breathing quickened and her heart pounded. When the echo of Erik's last word died away, she suddenly shook herself.

_I... can't let him leave! Damn it, Alyssa, he's your friend! Who cares what he looks like? He's your goddamn friend! _Before Alyssa knew what she was doing, she found herself running down the passage after him.

"What the hell!" Erik yelled out in shock when Alyssa ran into him all of the sudden from behind and flung her arms around his torso. "Are you insane!"

"Yes!" she cried, her voice cracking again. "Erik, if not caring about your face and not wanting you to leave means I'm crazy, then I'm freakin' out of my mind!" Erik struggled with her hands, and finally managed to peel them away. He had heard Alyssa, true enough, but didn't dare to believe that she meant what she said.

Once he had broken her grip on him, he pushed her off in anger (and, though he would never admit it, in fear). _She's lying to me. She has to be. Alyssa, how could you lie to me! _"If you touch me again," he threatened, not noticing the tears that were also falling from his eyes, "I swear to you, I'll-"

Alyssa took a shaky breath, but grabbed him before he could react. "Do whatever you want, Erik, I don't care! Kill me if it makes you happy! Please, just don't leave!" She was too flustered to even realize how little sense she was making, but she sounded so desperate that Erik's anger began to fade away. He didn't try again to get her off of him, but instead listened as she continued.

"Please... Erik, I don't want you to go! You're my friend! I care about you! What I _don't_ care about is how you look!" Her shattered voice echoed through the corridors and throbbed in Erik's ears as he slowly started to believe her. "I want you to come back with me, Erik. Please, I'm begging you. When you get angry or sad like this, tell me, dammit! I'll listen. That's what friends do! You listened to me, now let me do the same for you..." She still hadn't stopped crying, but was miraculously talking through her numerous tears. "Please... you're... the only thing I have now. I don't know anything about Paris or 1871. If you leave, then I'm as good as dead. If you don't want to stay for yourself... then, at least, please stay for me."  
She knew that she had to make it sound selfish, as hard as it was. Erik wouldn't stay for himself, he'd already proven that. But maybe... just maybe he would stay if it was to save her life. Alyssa waited in silence for what seemed like the longest minute of her life.

Slowly Erik turned around at last, and without a sound carefully wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb. _Why would she say these things? She has to be lying... but _why _would she do so? Is she actually telling the truth?_

There was something he had to know, a burning question that refused to go unasked. "Alyssa," he began uncertainly, "When you saw my face, what... what did you think? Were you... afraid of it, or disgusted?"

Alyssa shook her head, smiling ever so slightly. "I wasn't disgusted at all, but I was admittedly... a little afraid. ...What really scared me though," she added quickly, "was the thought that you weren't going to come back."

Erik had never felt this way before. No one had ever cared about him like this. It was so different, it was so _relieving... _Erik felt his legs buckle beneath him and fell to his knees, gently bringing Alyssa down with him.

"Oh my god..." he breathed, staring at Alyssa's outline in the dark. "Oh my god... I... oh god, Alyssa!" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body close to his own, sobbing softly in her ear.

Their tears mingled and fell to the ground as they held each other and cried. Alyssa felt a burst of relief spread through her heart and clutched Erik tighter, needing to feel the warmth of his chest against her cheek.

"Please... please don't leave..." she murmured against his skin. Erik sueezed her reassuringly.

"I won't, Alyssa, I promise," he whispered, feeling Alyssa's grip slowly weaken. "I'll stay right here, my dear. Don't worry." She nodded feebly, and Erik smiled softly at her. _How can you stand to kneel here in my embrace without a single shudder of revulsion? How could any person be so... compassionate?_

After a while, Erik felt Alyssa's breath, slow and relaxed against him. He wanted to stay there with her, holding her, so badly, but for her sake decided to go back home. He picked her up lightly, gently balancing her in his arms as he started off down the passageway.

He set her down delicately on the bed once they were in his room, and tenderly pulled a few blankets up to her shoulders. He turned to leave, but hesitated and faced her for a moment before exiting the room. As his eyes swept over the beautiful features of her face, he found himself murmuring four words that had been haunting him inside for longer than he'd known.

"I love you, Alyssa."

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**YAY! We all knew it was coming, and now he said it! But before you get too excited, just wait for a few more updates before partying. And remember, the more reviews the quicker the update!**

**Okay, and now for the story. There's this Comic Convention going on right now in my town, and it's, like, a _really _big thing around here. So anyway, my friends talked me into going today, and _guess who I saw there! Guess guess guess! (An ignore the message on the side, just scroll...)_**

S.

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..._GERARD BUTLER!_ IN THE _FLESH!_ I'M NOT KIDDING! OMG, I'M _SOOOO _HAPPY, THAT JUST LIKE MADE THE REST OF MY LIFE! .:_FAINTS_:.


	17. Mystification

**I'm so, so excited now! One more review till I hit 100! And the one to get me there will get a special prize that I'll reveal at the end of this chappy! Let the blood bath... begin...**

**So re-capping: Erik confessed his love. Awww... Now the question is, will he confess it _to her? _Oh, and I don't own Romeo and Juliet, Monsieur Shakespeare does.**

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It wasn't until late in the afternoon the next say that Alyssa finally opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, every thought focused intently on her muscles stretching, and she stifled a yawn with a delicate hand.

"Ah, good afternoon." Erik walked in cheerfully, and Alyssa blinked in confusion, feeling a sharp pain jolt through her head as she did so.

She rubbed sleep from her eyes and yawned a second time, then asked, "Afternoon? Isn't it-"

"Morning? No, my dear, you slept through that hours ago," Erik informed, looking slightly amused. Alyssa threw the blankets off her legs and slowly stood up, still stretching as she did so.

"Why didn't you..." She paused and yawned once again. "...wake me up?"

Erik laughed, mostly at the emotions he felt while watching her shake off the shadow of sleep. "You looked so peaceful, and besides, I wouldn't have gotten away without at least a couple minor injuries, right?" He caught the glance that Alyssa sent him. "I'm only joking. But you were so tired last night, I felt it was best to let you regain your strength. At least you feel better now, right?"

"I... guess so..." Alyssa took a small step foward and suddenly swayed dangerously on her feet. Erik reached out and grabbed her arms a second before she fell.

Gazing into her eyes worriedly, he asked, "Alyssa, are you all right? You're not seriously ill, are you?"

"My head's pounding," Alyssa murmured. "I'm okay, just a massive... headache..." She queezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Everything seemed a little blurry, and her eyes started watering slightly. "I don't know if I'm sick, but it... ow." She massaged her temples with two fingers, trying to ease the pain.

Concerned, Erik put a hand to the back of her head and held her forehead to his left cheek for a second. "Oh, god. You're burning up, Alyssa." He helped to support her as she wobbled over to the bed.

He stood back once she was settled, deep in thought. "I'll... go make you some tea or something to make you slep, or ease the pain, or... something. I'll be right back, but will you be okay alone for a moment? I know I'll only be in the next room, but it would be painful to call if you needed me, and you don't want to strain your voice."

Alyssa smiled sleepily. "I'll be fine, Erik, I'm not a child. It's just a headache, after all." Erik nodded and swiftly left the room.

_God, this was a _bit_ sudden, _Alyssa thought bitterly. _I was, like,_ fine _just yesterday. Gr, stupid headache. _She stared at the ceiling and sighed once, and a ticklish cough suddenly crept into her throat. She rubbed her neck, desperately attempting to dispel the urge so that Erik wouldn't have another cause to worry about her. Her endeavor backfired, though, and she doubled up, her knees almost to her chest from the force of her coughing fit. She prayed that Erik hadn't heard it, that at that precise moment the teapot had begun whistling.

At last he entered the room, carrying a small tray that he set upon the nightstand beside her. "Are you all right?" he questioned, trying to hide exactly how concerned he was. "That sounded like a painful coughing fit." (_Dammit, he _did _hear,_ Alyssa thought to herself.) Erik extended his hand and set it upon her brow, then frowned. She was still as warm as ever.

"Here, drink some of this." He picked up a small bottle from the tray and unscrewed the cap. "It's one of my own draughts, something to help the fever go down." Alyssa gratefully accepted the silver spoon, swallowing the sickly greenish-brown liquid as quickly as she could. It tasted absolutely vile, but luckily went down her throat easily (unlike most cough syrups), so that the taste was fleeting.

Erik couldn't stifle a laugh at the expression on her face, as hard as he tried to do so. "I apologize, Alyssa, I should have warned you. Here, this one will help you sleep. Be forewarned, it tastes worse than the last one." Alyssa gingerly took the second spoon, giving him a pitiful glance before drinking it down. She shuddered at the disgusting flavor, but knew that it was for the better. Erik waited until she was ready, then placed the steaming teacup in her hand, chuckling quietly. "This will taste better, I promise."

It didn't take long for Alyssa to drain the cup, and Erik placed it back on the tray once she had. "Now try and get some sleep, my dear," he murmured. "Unless, of course, there's anything else you need?"

Slowly and lazily Alyssa shook her head. "No, I'm okay, thanks. I mean... unless you wouldn't mind... oh, forget it."

"What? You can tell me." Erik detected the shyness in her gaze, and found it incredibly loveable for some strange reason.

Alyssa hesitated, then muttered, "Would you... sing for me? I don't know why, but there's something soothing about your voice. It's just so... calming."

With a small smile, Erik agreed. "If you insist, my dear." He paused for a brief moment, then took a deep breath.

_"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation_

_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination_

_Silently the senses abandon their defenses..." _He sang in the softest, most lulling voice he could manage, tempted to smile as he watched Alyssa's eyes blink more frequently in their struggle to stay open.

_"Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor_

_Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender._

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day,_

_Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light..._

_And listen to the Music of the Night..._" Erik's voice grew quieter as he continued to sing, since Alyssa was dangerously close to sleep. When at last her eyes closed and didn't open again, he tentatively leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair off her shoulder. He unknowingly bit his lip softly, almost wanting to cry. _Such a beautiful angel._

As much as he didn't want to leave, Erik knew that her chances of staying asleep (and therefore in comfort) would be much higher if he wasn't in the room. He stood up and reluctantly walked away, humming the melody of his song absentmindedly.

Erik sat in his armchair in the main room, and saw a book on the small table beside him. He reached over and picked it up, and opened it to the inside cover to find that it was the playwrite for Romeo and Juliet that he had given Alyssa. Amused, he flipped through a few pages until he came to the part where Romeo and Juliet were speaking to each other late at night from the balcony to the ground.

"_The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars at daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region seem so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night," _Erik read lazily, a soft smile crossing his face as his mind began wandering. "_See how she lays a cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"_

Falling silent, Erik read on with his eyes only. He found himself soon envisioning Alyssa atop a balcony far above his head, amazingly brilliant against the black velvet nighttime sky. She smiled down to him, and within moments was standing beside him, her eyes half-closed as her face came closer..._ closer..._

Then his vision changed, he was truly daydreaming now. He waited behind a corner, telltale footsteps letting him know that someone was approaching. A coy smile crossed his face, he knew it was Alyssa. As soon as he could, he grabbed her wrist, twirled her, and dipped her backward in his arms. There was a second in which she looked at him, surprised, then she smiled and quickly met his lips, her arms looping around his neck and bringing them closer together.

Yet as much as he longed to, Erik knew that he couldn't ever do something like that. Alyssa had been hurt before by love, and she seemed almost afraid of it now. If he acted upon his feelings, Erik feared more than anything that she might grow more distant.

_Oh, how terrible it is that I have to keep my emotions a secret from you, Alyssa! ...But I don't want to hurt you. I would never do anything to hurt you. I... love you. Maybe someday, if God is a merciful as most claim, I will be able to tell you, but until then... until then, my angel, I must treat you no differently than usual._

Suddenly Alyssa groaned from his room, interrupting his thoughts unintentionally. Erik stood up and speedily approached the bedside, and she sat up and grinned at him when she saw him. He returned the wordless greeting, then once again felt her forehead.

"A little better, I'd say," Erik mumbled, pressing his cheek to her, more for the sake of feeling her skin against his than for comparing tempuratures. Alyssa kept her mouth away from him, taking great care to keep her sickness from spreading.

"You probably shouldn't get that close," she warned, using her arms to put distance between them (an act that Erik obviously didn't care for). "I don't want you to get sick, too. That'd kinda suck. I mean, no need for us both to suffer."

After a moment during which he swallowed his unexplainably depressed feelings, Erik sighed and muttered, "Pity the one to suffer had to be you." Alyssa merely shrugged in response.

"It's okay. At least I have someone with a kick-ass voice to sing me to sleep. God knows that if you were sick, I wouldn't really be able to do shit for you." She laughed once, then all of the sudden she realized what she'd said. "Oh my god, that came out wrong. I didn't mean it like... your voice is, like... boring or anything! I just meant that it was soothing, and relaxing, and can, you know, put me at ease and... stuff. Oh god, I'm so sorry, I really, _really _worded that horribly, I-"

Erik shook his head slightly and put a finger over her lips. "It's all right, Alyssa. I know what you mean." He drew away slowly and sat at her feet, his fingers still feeling the ghostly softness of her mouth. "Thank you for your concern, though. It means a lot, truly."

Alyssa smiled, her eyes shining. "Hey, can I get another lesson on the organ?" she asked abruptly. Erik nodded, surprised though he was, and helped her stand up (even though she claimed many times that she could do it herself). He carefully supported her and led her over to his organ in the main room.

"Do you remember what I last taught you?" he inquired once she was seated, and Alyssa nodded. He grinned and gestured to the sheet music placed at eye level on the organ. "Then see if you can at least play the right hand part for this song. The left we can break down and attempt later."

Staring at the paper intently, Alyssa hesitantly began to play. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as her fingers pressed the keys. Erik followed with his eyes, comparing the notes she played with the ones he'd written.

"No, that one is a C, not a D," he corrected once. "Play from the last measure." Alyssa sighed and began again, this time getting it right. She concentrated on nothing but the music, everything else around her losing color and sound. That is, everything except Erik.

Finally, the song was over. Alyssa, her breathing deep, leaned back and stretched, grimacing at her stiffness. Her hand was throbbing from playing so much after not doing anything for a couple weeks. Erik, observing how she tried to flex her hand and knowing how she felt, took her hand in one of his own and gently massaged it with his fingers.

"I know how it feels," he murmured, his eyes focused on the task at hand. "Your hand must be in pain, _non?_" Alyssa nodded, and Erik continued to work on her aching palm with his skilled fingers. "But you did very well. You've learned fast, faster than most would. I'm impressed."

Alyssa smiled. "Thanks. Why did that song seem so long this time, though?"

"Because it _is _fairly long. And I'm sure being sick didn't help." They both laughed, and Erik realized that he had stopped massaging Alyssa's hand, even though he had not let it go. He pretended he hadn't noticed it, though, so that hopefully Alyssa might not think of it, either.

Unfortunately for him, she did. Clearing her throat just a little bit, she slowly pulled out of his grasp. Erik instantly relinquished his hold on her, as though he was as surprised as she was.

"Sorry," Alyssa apologized, "I just kinda need my hand back." Erik smiled sheepishly, both wishing that he could entwine his fingers in hers again, and wishing that he hadn't, since it caused her obvious discomfort.

All of the sudden,the pounding in Alyssa's head came back in full. She groaned and rubbed her temples, but found that it did little to help. Erik stood up and -without thinking- lifted her surprisingly into his arms. Alyssa let out a small sound of shock, which he ignored as he carried her to the bed in his room and set her down.

"I'll go get you something to make you sleep again. You just relax, and I'll be right back." Without another word, he hurried out.

Alyssa opened her mouth as though she was going to say something, but closed it and playfully rolled her eyes, falling backward into the pillows and sighing once. It was the first time she'd been awake while Erik held her that way, and for some reason she felt very compelled to say something about it. Not that it bothered her, exactly. She just needed to bring it up, it refused to be put into the back of her mind.

_Strange, _she thought. _Why can't I just forget it? _Alyssa frowned for a second, deep in thought, and suddenly a shy grin broke out unexpectedly on her lips. Stranger still was the fact that, for the life of her... she couldn't say why it did.

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**Okay, about the prize. My 100th reviewer gets...(drumroll please)...the pics I took of Gerry at the convention! YAY! So let the blood bath _really _begin! Oh, and please review the _chapter, _not my anecdote. Though those thoughts were appreciated (and amusing), too.**

**And actually, anyone who wants those pics can just ask me, and I'll email them along... or something. So please, please review (the chapter) and I'll be sure to update soon! Oh, and for those who asked, Gerry was at the convention because he was promoting a new movie of his (with David Wenham, who is also one of my actor hotties FARAMIR! so that rocked!)...**


	18. Holiday

**Yay, I broke 100 reviews! You guys are all so, so awesome! .:Bows:. I am so not worthy!  
Oh, and one other thing I keep forgetting to mention. Both PhantomAngel and Wisdom'sPearl have done some amazing illustrations of this fic, posted on deviantArt, so if you want something cool to look at, I suggest you check it out! If you need help on finding out how, let me know!**

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"Wake up, Alyssa," Erik whispered, performing what had now because his daily routine by placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she sat up with a groan (in cue with her pattern as well).

"What? Erik, it's early." Alyssa tried to lay back down, but Erik wouldn't let her. In contradiction to his usual answer ("Actually, Alyssa, it's rather late."), he was forced to admit with a smile that she was right.

Still grinning brightly, he asked, "Do you know what today is?"

Alyssa glanced with a sleepy eyes at the calendar on the nightstand. "Mm... December... 25?" Her eyes suddenly snapped open wide. "Oh shit, it's December 25. Oh god, it's... I don't believe it."

"Well, I hope you do start believing it. Obviously, I would never celebrate something like this, but since you're here, and told me that you celebrate the holiday... I got you something." Erik said that all very fast, half because he was very uncharacteristically nervous and half because he was very unusually excited.

He gave Alyssa a curious look as she his her face behind a pillow. "...Is something wrong, my dear?"

Nervously Alyssa snuck a glance at him. "I can't accept what you got me, Erik. I have nothing to give in return, and besides, I'd be so embarrassed."

Relieved that that was it, Erik sighed. "You've already given me something that no one else has before. You aren't afraid to be around me, and you... even want to be a friend to me! I could ask for no more than that." ..._For I do not dare to ask for your love... _"And there's no reason to be embarrassed. I can't imagine why you would be in the first place."

For a few seconds, Alyssa considered it. Erik's assuring stare, which she found she couldn't avoid, was extremely persuasive and convincing. "All right," she agreed at last, laughing shyly and pressing the pillow to her face. Erik beamed and quickly left the room. He was back so soon that Alyssa suspected he had run when out of her sight.

Shifting anxiously on his feet (an act that was exceedingly unlike himself), Erik handed her a small box. Alyssa blushed and opened it, unused to all the attention. She could not hold back a small gasp at the sight that met her.

"Oh, Erik... it's beautiful," she breathed, taking out the small bracelet and admiring it. The several jewels studded into its gold surface sparkled in the candlelight. "How... how did you get it? It looks so expensive. ...These can't be real!"

Erik nodded once. "They are," he mumbled. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Alyssa exclaimed, her lips breaking into a huge grin. "Thank you!" She rose to her knees, threw her arms around him, and swiftly kissed his cheek.

Stunned, Erik quickly pulled away. Alyssa looked, at him, surprised, as he touched the spot where her lips had touched him. "You... kissed me. Why?" He knew that people did such things occasionally (such as upon greeting others), but had never experienced anything like it himself. _And besides... it's not like I've just greeted her or anything._

"Oh, uh... friends do that sometimes. Kissing on the cheek, I mean. I just thought, to thank you..." Alyssa's voice was shy and quiet, her gaze focused intently on the ground. "I'm sorry if it offended you or anything. I didn't think... I'm sorry." She nervously met his eyes.

To her astonishment, he shook his head. "No, don't be. It was merely unexpected, that's all. You don't have to be sorry. I didn't mind it, I was just... surprised." He offered her a small smile, which she returned happily. When she turned her head for a second, his fingers crept up to his cheek again, feeling the warmth of her lips. _Her lips..._

"Thank you again, Erik. So, so much." Alyssa gazed at the bracelet, her eyes shining.

"Let me help you put it on," Erik offered. She nodded, and he elegantly took her wrist in his hand. He took his time fastening the jewelry, even though he could have skillfully had it done in seconds, and at last he let her hand go.

Another smile lit up Alyssa's face, causing one to tug at Erik's mouth as well. "Thank you," she whispered once again, a slight blush creeping up into her cheeks that she prayed wasn't enough to stand out.

"Don't mention it, my dear," Erik muttered, staring softly at her. She looked away and pulled a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and he marveled at just how beautiful her dark hair was. He longed to reach out and caress it, he wanted to kiss every strand and bless each one for simply belonging to her, for being a part of her.

Alyssa turned back to him, and he quickly moved his gaze away. She thoughtfully furrowed her brow, pondering over his attitude. _He wasn't just staring at me, was he? _She shrugged it off, half-hoping that it wasn't true, while at the same time feeling unexplainably jittery. _Oh well, it's Christmas. I'll... think about it later._

Sensing her change in mood, Erik thought it best to divert to a different subject. "Anyway, I thought it might be nice to take a walk today, see how Paris looks on a holiday. What do you think?" Alyssa met his eyes, shaking off her concerns.

"Umm... sure," she agreed. "That'd be pretty cool. And it seems so... mood-fitting, doesn't it? Just sort of _mellow, _you know?" She shrugged as if in response to her own question, and gazed off into space.

Erik nodded slowly. "Yes, I know what you mean." He stood and gave a shallow bow. "So in that case, I shall leave you to get ready, and once you're done, we can set off for a tour of a fairly different Paris."

A grin crossed Alyssa's face. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

A few hours later, the pair found themselves slowly strolling along a sidewalk, their breath forming clouds of mist before them. Alyssa reached out and caught a snowflake in her palm, smiling as it melted away with the warmth of her hand.

"It's so beautiful out here," she whispered, shaking her hand to heat it back up. "I know I've said it a million times already, but it's true." Her eyes wandered down the snow covered street and across it to the shops adorned with holly and garlands. "It's kinda like home, but weird because there aren't any Christmas lights."

"Tell me, what does it look like in your time during the holidays?" Erik questioned, staring at the shining snow crystals in her hair and thinking about how amazing they made her look.

For a few seconds, Alyssa pondered over what he'd asked her, searching her memories for the right ones. "Well, for one thing, it never snowed where I lived, so you'd have to imagine it being cold, but not icy. There are multi-colored lights everywhere, the most classic colors being red and green. Other than that, it's pretty much the same as here."

"What was it like inside the houses?" Erik prompted, guiding her to a sheltered table under a cover that overhung a bit of the surrounding area. She sat down in one of the chairs and thought about it.

"Well, last year I spent Christmas at my grandmother's house, so I won't talk about that," Alyssa murmured. Erik nodded, remembering what she'd told him of her strict grandmother. "But the last time I spent Christmas at home was okay. Mom was really into all the traditional Christmas stuff that year, and I remember she baked like a million cookies. My brother and I just sat around and watched TV the entire time, except when she made us decorate the tree and stuff." She smiled as she relived it all in her mind, and Erik grinned as well, trying to imagine what she was telling him. "We both acted like we didn't want to do anything... but I actually enjoyed myself... more than I let on." Her voice suddenly died away, and she frowned as less than savory memories came to her mind.

Erik looked at her, confused with the sudden sadness she was showing. "Are you all right, Alyssa?" he asked, hesitantly taking her hand in his own. Alyssa sighed once, her eyes still downcast.

Reluctantly she raised her head and looked at him sadly. "Erik, I don't really want to talk about this anymore, okay? It's just... weird. Homesickness, I guess. Just... let's keep walking or something, okay? Please?"

Erik hesitantly agreed, though he stood with an easily detectable air of suspicion. He considered offering his arm to Alyssa, but judging by the expression on her face, decided not to. Instead, she stood beside him and followed as he led her farther down the street.

"Did you ever spend Christmas like that, Erik?" Alyssa inquired suddenly, gazing up at him with wondering eyes. He stared back, and though he knew very well that her purpose was more to change the subject than get an answer, he made the decision to go along with her.

"Me? No, I never did. I wasn't exactly what you could call _close _to my mother, nor she to me. And, of course, no one was very keen to spend any time around the Devil's Child," he muttered, his tone more cheerful than Alyssa would have anticipated. The way he spoke did nothing to lighten her mood, though, and she dropped her gaze to the ground.

"Dammit... I can't believe anyone called you that," she whispered. "Especially when you were just a little kid! That's so fucked up!" Erik gave her a quizzical look, for he had never heard her curse that way, but she ignored him. "You're not a Devil's Child, Erik. I mean, you're a human being, just like the bastards who called you otherwise. Except you're nicer. More... I don't know, caring." Two sparkling tears fell from her eyes, and Erik quickly wiped each one away with the pad of his gloved thumb before they froze.

Gently he tilted her face up, staring softly into her eyes. "Thank you for thinking of me that way, Alyssa. It may or may not be true..." (Of course, in his mind, it wasn't.) "...but thank you." Erik paused and tenderly brushed a few snowflakes out of her hair, and Alyssa offered him a half-smile.

"Can we go home, Erik?" she asked then, with a somewhat tentative air as she shivered and pulled her shawl tighter around herself.

Erik laughed, then started to remove his coat. "Of course we can, my dear. You should have told me you were getting cold." Despite Alyssa's protests, he set the coat about her shoulders. "I don't want you to get sick again," he explained, feeling under Alyssa's suddenly calculating gaze that he almost needed to justify the gesture.

Alyssa nodded and gave him a small smile, her suspicions pushed to the corners of her mind. As he began to walk back toward the opera house, she felt a minor urge take hold of her, and bit her lip tightly. Her eyes surveyed Erik's stride and posture hungrily as he strode ahead of her, and she mentally cursed herself. _...Dammit, control yourself, Alyssa! _She walked a little faster until she had caught up with him, then, disregarding her inner instincts, reached out and grasped his hand. It was all she could do if she wanted to attempt to dispel her desires, yet she instantly came to regret it.

Caught by surprise, Erik suddenly stopped right where he was, and turned to her. There was little gentleness in his gaze as he looked from her eyes to her hand in his own and back again, seeming both confused and, in Alyssa's opinion, a bit angered. She quickly pulled her hand away, holding it guardedly at her side with wide, slightly fearful eyes. _Shit! God dammit, Alyssa, why_ _the _hell_ did you do that? Why, why, _why?

"I... I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice so quiet that Erik barely heard her. He felt a sudden guilt take hold of him for how he'd responded to the situation, and his lips parted minimally in shock. _God... decidedly _not _one of my better reactions... _

They both stood motionless for a few seconds, then Erik shook his head. "It's okay. You simply... startled me... is all."He extended his hand, waiting patiently for her to take it. Alyssa looked from his gloved palm to him, and for a moment he was scared that she wouldn't grasp it. A second before he was about to sigh and lower it, she took his hand in hers and smiled at him, a sheepish, embarrassed, and vaguely forced grin. He returned the gesture with a little less enthusiasm, but nevertheless turned and led her down the street toward the Opera Populaire.

"...By the way, I don't think I ever got a proper answer, Alyssa," Erik muttered, "to what I asked you a long time ago."He pushed aside the false wall, and Alyssa followed him into his labyrinth."What do you think of my home?I mean,how do you feel down here, honestly? And don't feel the need to lie if it's truly not to your taste."

Alyssa pretended to think about it for a moment, though she already knew the answer. "Well, you already know that these tunnels kinda creep me out a little bit, but they're actually not so bad. I guess they're kinda cool... in their own... creepy little way." She laughed quietly, and Erik smirked to himself in the darkness. "Your actual home, though, is... beautiful. Not the largest of living places, but if you were to compare it to a New York apartment, it's _so _much better. So... yeah. That's what I think about it. And, I mean, large homes were never really my style -another reason why I hated my grandmother's place so much, but that's not the point- so, really... yeah... I sorta, kinda, love it. Dammit, I _love _it down here."

She hung her head then, shoulders shaking with what Erik took to be sheepish, nearly inaudible giggling. He stopped walking and faced her, though he could see only her shadowy outline, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm overjoyed to hear that, Alyssa. Thank you." She shook her head, and he turned to keep walking.

As Alyssa tread behind him, she wiped angrily at the tears running down her face. _Thank god Erik thought I was only laughing, _she thought, unbelievably relieved. _If he would have made me say more... damn, who knows what would've come out?_

At last they emerged from the mirror frame into the main room. Alyssa promptly removed Erik's coat and handed it to him, now truly smiling as she thanked him for the use of it. When she turned her back to him, Erik's swiftly brought the material to his face and inhaled deeply, adoring the scent of her flesh.

After shaking out her hair to get the last of the ice crystals from it, Alyssa faced him again. She hesitated uncertainly for a moment, weighing the possible consequences of what she wanted to do, then she strode forward until she was mere inches from him, her eyes downcast until she stood still.

Tenderly, gingerly, she reached up and touched his mask. Erik was instantly about to shy away upon reflex, but she gave him such a firm look that he forced himself to stay where he was.

"Let me take it off, Erik." Her voice was so soft, her tone so self-assured. Erik could tell that she knew exactly what she was asking of him.

However, he was caught for a second between two powerful emotions. One, of course, was his instinct to strangle anyone who even gave his mask a second glance. The other was his desire to do anything Alyssa asked, anything to make her happy. For an instant, his first emotion won.

"I don't really think..." His voice faltered and died as he looked down into Alyssa's eyes.

She breathed only one word. "_Please._" He shut his eyes tightly, biting his lower lip in his internal conflict. She'd seen him before, but what if now she came to her senses? What if she thought differently of him now?

_Please, _please _don't hate me. _"...Fine." Slowly she took the pale mask off, and he heard a muffled clatter as it hit the ground. Alyssa stepped back to look at him, and when he felt her move away, he was sure he'd lost her. _No, please. Not after everything. Alyssa, don't do this to me. You can't do this to me, dammit! _Erik's eyes shot open in despair and anger, but what he saw quickly made him change his mind.

Alyssa was beaming at him, smiling as though absolutely nothing was wrong. "You need never wear it in my presence if you don't want to." Erik felt an extraordinary relief flood throughout him for the second time, and when it was combined by a wave of his second emotion, he lowered his head.

_What have I ever done to be worthy of this? _he asked himelf. _What have I ever done that brought this angel to me? God, Alyssa, I love you. _He was mildly surprised when he felt two fingers touch his chin and raise his bowed head. He smiled at Alyssa, then suddenly reached forward, clutched her upper arms, and pulled her close to him.

"Thank you," he breathed into her ear, biting back tears that threatened to fall. She held him as tightly as she could.

"What happened that made you so fearful of people seeing your face?" she questioned, her eyes flitting between his for an answer. He shook his head softly, pulling her close again.

As much as he wanted to tell her what she wanted to know, Erik knew that he wasn't ready to. "One day, my dear. One day, I'll tell you. But I can't yet." He felt a solitary tear fall from his right eye. "Thank you so much, Alyssa. Thank you for not being like _them_. For accepting me. I could never, _ever _tell you how much..." His voice trailed off, but he didn't need to say any more.

Alyssa smiled, glad that something she was doing made Erik _that _happy. True, it was a _little _weird, but she let it go without a second thought. "No, Erik. Thank _you. _You've been so good to me; I guess it's safe to say that you saved my life. So... thanks." She leaned up, paused for a moment, then lightly placed a kiss on his ravaged cheek. He trembled ever so slightly, but she let him go and took a step back.

The weariness was hardly noticeable in Alyssa's eyes, but Erik saw it within an instant. He debated on whether or not he should send her to bed, for he didn't want her to have a relapse of her fever, yet he had no desire to be away from her. At last, he decided that her health was more important than his selfish yearnings, especially when they most likely meant little to her.

"Are you tired, Alyssa?" he asked. She gave him a half-smile, then nodded. Disappointed though he was, Erik showed no emotion. "It's likely that you would be, I suppose. You only recently got over your illness. You should go to sleep if you don't want to get sick again." Alyssa knew that he spoke the truth.

Before she left to go to the room, she turned to him. "Umm... Erik, if it wouldn't be too much trouble... I mean, I was wondering if maybe-"

"I'll be there after you're ready," Erik offered, knowing very well what she wanted. For some reason, the knowledge that she wanted to fall asleep with his voice in her ears made him want to cry out in tenderness.

With a grin, Alyssa retreated into his room. He stared after her even when she had passed out of sight.

_She may be finally beginning to trust me, _Erik thought to himself, barely daring to believe it. It was a fantastic notion, that she could trust him, yet he had to admit that it was also fantastic that she accepted him, wasn't afraid to be around him...

Erik heard Alyssa call his name, and a small smile crossed his face as he sprinted up the steps to his room. He stopped when he stood at the bedside, where Alyssa was sitting, lazily brushing her hair. She glanced at him, the way she looked up out of the corner of her eye reminding him vaguely of a cat, and he sat opposite her in a plush maroon armchair.

For a minute he did nothing but sit there, taking her in with his eyes, following the way she leisurely brought the brush to her scalp and then slowly trailed it down through her hair. It seemed as though she had all the time in the world, as if the whole of her mind was utterly focused on each stroke of the brush. Alyssa sat in silence, but after a minute glanced at Erik again, knowing very well that he'd been staring at her.

When their eyes met, Erik started singing. It was a silly, rather meaningless French tune, but she smiled as the worlds slid off his tongue, smooth and flowing as silk. He extended his hand for the silver brush, and set it carefully upon the nightstand when she gave it to him. Alyssa gradually eased herself underneath the blankets, laying her head against the pillow and grinning at him.

_There are times when she's like a child, _Erik mused, surveying her thoughtfully. _And times when she's like a fiery, independent woman. So dynamic, my love... _

How Erik managed to hold back the impulse to lean down and touch those soft lips with his own, he did not know. For what seemed like hours (though it was truly only minutes), he did naught but stare at the figure of his sleeping love. His mind was there, and yet somewhere else entirely as he daydreamed and fantasized. At last his own exhaustion pulled him away from her side.

He removed his shoes and laid down with a small grimace on the uncomfortabe chaise lounge. After adjusting his position more than once, he was able to find a place suitable enough to allow him to sleep. With visions of Alyssa occupying his mind, he closed his eyes and fell blissfully asleep, a small grin gracing his features.

* * *

**Remember, if you want those Gerry pics, they're still available! And if you also want to see PhantomAngel's artwork, let me know! It's really, really good!**


	19. Confliction

**Okay, before I forget, I need to do a poll here. There's a chapter coming up in a while that may change the rating of this fic to M. If I have enough people opposed to such a change, however, I'll censor said chapter and keep it T. Just vote in your review, please!**

**Oh, and Erik goes through some bipolar-ness in this chapter, just bear with me, por favor.**

* * *

"Alyssa? Alyssa, where are you?" Erik called, searching for her desperately. He'd hadn't been asleep for very long, so where could she have gone? Why wasn't she answering him? Erik knocked on the door of the small bathroom and opened it when there was no reply (horrifying images of what could have happened to Alyssa in there ensnaring his thoughts), but she was nowhere to be seen. Quickly he turned and let his eyes sweep over every corner of the room, but he found no trace of her.

_My god, where are you? _He nearly lost his composure, but managed with the last of his strength to convince himself that she had to be fine.

...Well, almost managed.

"_Where are you, Alyssa?_" Erik tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but instead sprinted into the labyrinth, calling for her as loudly as he could.

* * *

Alyssa let out a sigh of relief as she heard his footsteps growing more and more distant. She was huddled behind a curtain in a place where she knew she wasn't supposed to be, next to an intricate mannequin whose brown curls were tickling her neck. She irritably brushed the synthetic hair away, looking sadly at the figure's pale, beautiful face. For some unfathomable reason, seeing it made Alyssa more depressed than she'd ever felt, and not being able to tell why further worsened her mood until she was quite miserable. _What did you do to Erik? _she silently asked the mannequin. _Why does my heart feel broken every time I look at you?_

After a brief moment, Alyssa sighed, her breath coming in a trembling gasp, and she crept out from behind the curtain. "Erik!" she yelled. The sound of rushed footsteps hurried toward her, and soon Erik emerged from the labyrinth.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked, immediately wishing he hadn't cursed at her. A sigh of alleviation passed his lips, and he ran to her, his breathing heavy and panting. "I thought something had happened... Oh my god, Alyssa..." She moved closer to him and hugged him, feeling more than a little guilty at having worried him so much, and he held her fiercely. When at last she stepped away, he noticed something shine on her hand.

He reached out and caught her wrist before it even hit her that he had moved. "What's this, now?" His tone was hard and menacing, and Alyssa tried to pull away when she realized what he'd seen. On the fourth finger of her left hand, a ring.

"Erik, please! I... I can... I can explain!" Alyssa pleaded, finally succeeding in wrenching her hand out of his grip. _I had just wanted to... try it on? God, you'd never believe that. _She took the ring off and held it out to him, holding it at arm's length while she stood back, but he didn't take it.

"You were in that room," he growled, taking a step toward her. "_Why?" _Alyssa cringed at the rage that he radiated, all of the sudden feeling very frightened. He strode over to the curtain and pulled it aside, revealing the wax figure of Christine. Holding back the despairing emotion that he felt, he rounded on Alyssa. "Why did you go in there? I've told you before not to _ever..._!"

"I was... I was merely curious!" He advanced toward her slowly, a demented rage in his eyes that Alyssa had hoped never to see again. "Please, Erik, I'm sorry!" she cried, stepping away from him. A hint of doubt clouded his eyes for a brief second, but it was gone in an instant and the anger returned.

Alyssa nearly tripped over herself in her haste to get away, her mind completely taken over by fear. _Oh, shit, what's he going to do? _When she hit the wall with her back, she panicked, knowing she was cornered. Erik took another step closer, and she suddenly lashed out, striking him across the face with her palm, hard enough to make him pause for a moment. Shocked with what she'd done yet at the same time glad that she'd bought herself time, Alyssa ducked into the darkness of the labyrinth without giving it a second thought.

She didn't need a light anymore, since she'd long since memorized how to get through, in case of an emergency. Quite like this one, actually. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, trying in vain to be as quiet as possible in case Erik was attempting to follow her.

_He'll probably find me, anyway, _she thought helplessly, turning another corner and feeling her way in the dark before setting off at a run again.

* * *

Erik picked up the veil that had fallen to the ground, and carefully placed it back on the head of Christine's figure. _The ring... where did that girl drop the ring? _He looked frantically around, afraid that it was lost, and saw it lying on the ground, just an innocent piece of silver with diamonds. "Christine..." His voice trembled as he took the mannequin's hand and lovingly slid the ring onto its fourth finger, lost for a minute in his mind.

Then, suddenly, he was jerked rather roughly back to reality. "Damn!" he cursed, rising to his feet in shock. _Oh my god... I... oh my god, Alyssa! Erik, you bastard! You _demon! _What the _hell_ were you thinking? You have to find her! God damn you, she's alone at night in the city! Who knows what could happen to her?_

Horrified at the possibilities, Erik threw on his cloak and rushed through the mirror frame. He listened intently for a moment, and thought that he could hear the faint sound of receding footsteps. Without giving it a second thought, he started his pursuit.

At last Alyssa reached the end of the labyrinth, panting as though she'd run twice as far as she actually had. She pushed aside the false part of the outer stone wall, hid it again, and hurried away. Neither knowing or caring which way she should go, and only aware of the fact that she had to get as far away as possible, she began to walk down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. Occasionally she would glance back to see if Erik was following her, but each time she saw nothing of him.

Loud noises coming from a tavern up ahead made Alyssa slightly uneasy and nervous about going on. She wondered if it would be best to turn around and head back to the opera house, but the memory of Erik's rage convinced her. With only a moment of hesitation, Alyssa continued walking, her mouth set in a determined line.

* * *

The intense worry and concern that Erik felt tripled once he had made it outside. He tried to breathe as normally as possible as he replaced the false wall over the passageway entrance, and luckily succeeded. _Dammit, Erik, you idiot! What the _hell _were you thinking? Why did you have to chase her away? Now she could be anywhere! You insufferable idiot! _He looked around frantically, praying with all his might that he would find her.

All at once, relief flooded him as he saw what was unmistakably his friend walking down the sidewalk. He let out a breath that he'd been unaware of holding, trembling and overwhelmed. _Thank god... I could have never forgiven myself if... if... _He refused to even let himself complete the thought, but instead sprinted across the street so that he could watch her without being spotted. He frowned as he saw her nearing the bar at the end of the street.

"What are you thinking, Alyssa?" he whispered to nothing in particular. He eyed her closely, concerned, as she turned once more to look for him.

"_Excusez-moi, _monsieur," a man spoke as he bypassed Erik, who turned in confusion. As soon as he realized that the man was merely being polite, and not trying to get his attention, he turned his focus back to Alyssa.

Just in time to see a pale arm reach out of the darkness of an alley next to the bar and grab her.

* * *

Alyssa had not time to scream before her body was pressed against the body of her assailant's and her lips were captured by his. She struggled, feeling panic completely take her over, but couldn't get away from him. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, and she tasted the foulness of the alcohol.

_No! _Alyssa cried in her mind, squirming violently. Her fighting only earned her a sharp blow to the head, the power of which was enough to stun her for more than a few seconds. The man held her close to his chest with one hand, but the other reached up and, to Alyssa's horror, began to unbutton the buttons on the front of her dress.

* * *

Erik stood for a moment in complete and total shock when he saw her get pulled into the alley. Several swear words were running through his mind, some he even happened to be making up on the spot, but he instantly pushed them away and came to his senses. "Oh god... Alyssa!" The cry left his mouth before he had even realized it, but he ignored it and ran quickly toward the dark space between the buildings. A car swerved and honked at him as he dashed by, but Erik paid it no heed. All that mattered was getting to Alyssa.

The hands were still working frantically over Alyssa's buttons when she felt something grab her shoulders and roughly wrench her out of their grip. Unable to fully piece things together (an after-effect of the lump on her head), she was aware for a moment of a cloak coming between her and the man, shielding her from torture.

Enraged again, Erik curled his fingers around the drunkard's throat. A horrible madness filled his eyes, one that even Alyssa, who thought she had already gazed at the worst of his anger, had never seen.

"Wait, Erik! Stop! You'll kill him!" she cried as her mind cleared, and she triedto get Erik to let go of the man he was strangling. He merely nudged her out of the way and tightened his grip.

"If there is one thing in this world that I truly despise, monsieur," he growled, his face close to the drunkard's, "it is a man who forces himself upon an innocent girl who wants nothing to do with him. It's unfortunate that you weren't aware of that before tonight. That unlearned lesson has cost you your life."

Suddenly Erik felt two delicate arms wrap around his neck from behind. "Please, Erik!" Alyssa begged desperately. "Don't kill him, please! It's not worth it!" He felt her tears on the nape of his neck, warm and yet cold to his skin.

Against his better judgment, his fingers fell away from the man, who collapsed on the ground. Erik straightened up, but couldn't walk away just like that. The man needed to be punished for what he'd done to Alyssa.

Swiftly Erik grabbed the man's collar and pulled his face close, forcing him to look into his gleaming, dangerous eyes. "You're lucky mademoiselle is so forgiving. She'd choosing to save your life. If it were up to me, you would be lying cold and lifeless on the ground. Let this be your lesson." His fist then collided solidly with the man's skull, knocking him to the ground and rendering him unconscious.

Slowly Erik turned back to Alyssa, whose wide, tear-filled eyes were focused on the man's body.

"He's not dead. Merely uconscious," Erik informed quickly. Alyssa nodded, still sobbing softly, then she slowly came to her senses and started to refasten her buttons, which had been all but forgotten in the confusion. But her fingers could only fumble helplessly over them, numb and shaking.

After a few moments of watching her with complete indifference, Erik took a step closer to help. She recoiled once, then allowed him to button her dress. Neither of them said a word the entire time. It was a relief for Erik, though, to see that she still had on her chemise. The drunkard hadn't had time to rid her of that defense. However, Erik's face was nonetheless devoid of emotion as he lowered his hands.

_She's like a scolded child... So afraid... _"Come." The tone he used was harsh, and though he immediately regretted it, he refused to let it break his mask of composure. He led her away with an air of indifference, ushering her along with a fold of his cloak. He held the material softly around her with his arm, but it could have been a whip for how much she tried to avoid it.

Alyssa stared at the ground as she walked, not daring to look up at Erik's face. She felt both ashamed and horrified of the incident. Sure, the man had assaulted her, almost _raped _her, but Erik had been so _close _to taking his life.

_Well, I guess I always somehow knew, deep down, that he was capable of killing... _Alyssa thought. _But still, that was scary. It was like I didn't even know him!_

Effortlessly Erik pulled the false wall to the side, and Alyssa stepped silently into the passage. He followed her inside, carefully concealing the corridor, then stood and stared at her dark figure. For a few long minutes, neither of them said a word or made any movement.

"Look," Alyssa spoke at last, her voice shaky, "I know I shouldn't have gone into that room when you told me not to, and I'm really sorry, Erik. It's _your _home, and for me to not respect your wishes was really stupid. I'm... sorry." She hung her head, then half-raised it again as she continued. "But when you get angry like that, you _totally _freak me out. I mean, damn! It's like you're going to freakin' kill me or something!" She had begun to cry again, and all of the sudden Erik found that he couldn't take it anymore. He reached forward and gently folded her into his embrace.

"Sshh. I'm sorry, Alyssa. You're right, I overreacted. I'm sorry. And I should have known that forbidding you to go into that room would have only enticed you. I'm... so sorry." His voice was soft and mesmerizing again, and Alyssa grasped his shirt with a trembling hand.

"Erik, he... it was so sudden. He just reached out and grabbed me, and I didn't know what to do! And I... god, if you hadn't been there, he would have... Oh my god..." Alyssa elapsed into new tears, clinging tightly to him, and Erik gave her a reassuring squeeze, letting her cry freely against his chest. He waited in silence until she had calmed down enough to step away from him.

Wiping her tears off of her face, Alyssa let out a shaking breath. "Thank you... again, Erik. I'm really, _really _sorry about earlier, and I hope you'll forgive me. But thank you so much for saving me. I owe you again."

Erik gave her a small smile and started to lead her back to his home. Her arms barely let him go for a second the whole way, she hung onto him as though he was an anchor saving her from hell itself.

"My dear, I think you should get some sleep," he advised once they were both standing in his main room. "Such trauma at this time of night... And if you would like, I will sing for you once you're ready."

Alyssa shifted her weight from foot to foot, and Erik knew that he wouldn't like what she was about to say. "Um, that's okay, Erik. You don't have to tonight. I mean, you don't have to at _all, _I just... I don't want to make you sing every night like this. Just... it's okay. Thanks, though." She gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked up the steps into her room, attempting to slow herself down but still noticeably faster than usual.

..._Great. Good job, Erik. Now you've scared her... You _idiot! _What were you thinking? You better pray that it's only for tonight that she'll act like this. _With a helpless sigh, Erik rose to his feet and entered his room. Just as he expected, Alyssa was asleep, and he crossed the room to stand beside her, his eyes full of sorrow and regret.

_How could I have been angry with her? _he wondered as he lightly traced a finger along her jaw. _This harmless angel... This sleeping beauty. I can't believe I lost my head like that! Dammit, Erik, you have to be more careful with her, or she'll never love you. _Erik sighed once, his gaze never leaving Alyssa's face. _Someday, my love. I swear to you that someday I will make myself a man worthy of your love._

If by happenchance he'd actually spoken those words aloud, and if Alyssa had been awake to hear them, something very different might have happened. Provided that he was able to convince her that he was speaking the truth, she may have been ready to tell him that, in her opinion, he already was.

* * *

**Wow. Reading back on that, I noticed that I worded some of those sentences rather horribly... I hope it wasn't too bad for your guys! So just vote on whether or not this story should stay T or become M... and once again, if you'd like to see some of the fanart for this story, I now have the URLs and I can give them to you guys finally.**

**Oh, and the next update might take about 4 or 5 days... a week at longest, this coming chapter's been the hardest so far to write...**


	20. Ghosts

**Finally! I worked on this chapter for like forever, then finally decided it was so long that it should be submitted in two different chapters, then when I tried to update, I couldn't submit my documents! Thank goodness that problem's solved now... so here's the chapter! The next one will definitely come sooner!**

**- - -**

Sunlight streamed in brightly through an open window as the Vicomtess de Chagny strode over to her wardrobe. She frowned slightly at the cold breeze, then purposefully crossed the room, closed the window, and pulled the gossamer curtain over it. Her eyes skimmed over the view, the tall buildings and snow-covered trees, the carriages quickly making their way down the street with finely dressed passengers inside them.

_I have to do it today, _she thought, her mouth set in a decisive line. _Start the new year without any doubts, free of ghosts... _A quiet knock at the door interrupted her wandering thoughts, and she turned around.

"Christine? Darling, are you awake?" the Vicomte spoke through the door. Christine smiled softly, pulling the sash of her robe a little tighter.

"Yes, dear. Come in," she replied, and within a moment the door opened to reveal the smiling face of her husband. He closed it noiselessly behind him and embraced her, grinning into her hair and inhaling her sweet aroma. "...Raoul..." Christine whispered uncertainly after enjoying his touch for a moment, and he stepped back to look at her.

His eyes surveyed her intently, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Christine, you haven't been yourself lately. Don't think I haven't noticed. What's wrong, my love?" His expression was concerned and loving, but it gave Christine little comfort.

"It's nothing to be too concerned about..." she began, unable to meet his gaze. "But I... I've been feeling so... _guilty _lately, Raoul."

"Guilty? Guilty for what?" There was a hint of amusement in Raoul's voice, but it faded when he looked into her chocolate brown irises. "Oh, Christine... you don't feel guilty about... leaving _him, _do you?" Now his tone held a hint of edginess in it as her eyes betrayed her answer. "For God's sake, Christine, he's a murderer! You haven't forgotten how he almost took _my _life, have you? He set fire to the opera house, _kidnapped you, _killed Piangi and the stagehand... How could you _possibly_ feel guilty?"

Christine trembled slightly. "But Raoul... he was once my... my Angel of Music. I know he isn't any longer, but I cannot completely disregard those years of utter kindness. And besides, if he had not scared Carlotta away the night of the Hannibal gala, and had not demanded that I replace her... it's possible that you and I might not have been reunited."

The look she received from her husband then was enough to both scare her and break her heart. "Are you saying I wouldn't have noticed you, Christine?" His voice layered with hurt, but also with a touch of anger. "...I love you, Christine. I could feel your very heartbeat the moment I stepped into that opera house."

"I love you, too," she murmured, meeting his lips swiftly. "But, please... I need to bury the memories. Let's start a new year, a new life... without any ghosts of the past."

Raoul was silent for a few moments, a bit relieved with her confession of love. "...Very well, darling. What do you suggest we do?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I need you to take me back to the Opera Populaire. Just to leave my memories there, forget everything that took place there." At her husband's unsure expression, Christine kissed him again. "I'm not having second thoughts about the choice I made those months ago. I chose _you, _and if I had to choose again, I'd do the same thing. I'm so glad that I married you, Raoul. I feel like the luckiest woman in Europe."

Hearing that made Raoul smile, and he pulled Christine to him and kissed her passionately. "Then I suppose it would be foolish to refuse your request. However, if I do this for you, then there's something I ask for you to do in return."

"And what's that?" Christine asked innocently. She caught the seductively suggestive glint in Raoul's eyes, and laughed, throwing her arms around him and meeting his mouth.

- - -

"So... _who _used to use this room again?" Alyssa questioned, sitting on the narrow lounge in Christine's old dressing room and appraising a small antique compact in her hand. "Was she like some rich diva or something?"

Erik sat opposite her in a plush armchair, seeming a bit depressed as he gazed around the room, his chin resting upon his right hand. "She was a singer in the opera house. I... never bothered to find out her name. All I wanted was a way into the opera house, after all." The lie came surprisingly easily from his lips, and he glanced at Alyssa to find that she didn't question it. He let out a small, shallow breath, and stopped short when he found himself shaking.

Unfortunately for him, Alyssa had seen him tremble. "What's wrong, Erik?" He looked away, hoping that she would just let the subject drop, but she did no such thing. "Oh, come on. Remember what I told you before? When you're angry or sad or all... I don't know... emo or something, tell me!"

"Emo?" Erik's visible eyebrow raised slightly. "What is that?"

Alyssa shrugged, shifting her gaze to the ground. "...Suicidal, depressed, morbid... take your pick." The smile was now entirely absent from her expression, and Erik rose to his feet. He reached down, tucked a finger under her chin, and tilted her face toward him.

"I'm fine, Alyssa. Honestly, I am. A little tired, yes, but other than that... there's nothing wrong." He grinned at her, and she could tell that this time it was sincere. Erik took her hand and pulled her gently to her feet, then took a step away. "Now, would you care to see the stage?" _Anything to get away from here._

A smile graced Alyssa's features as she nodded, and he swiftly led her to the charred hallway, closing the door behind them. "This way," Erik murmured, walking down the hallway and up a small flight of stairs. Alyssa followed him slowly, her eyes taking in the inside of the opera house for the second time. After a minute or so, they came upon the last bend in the hallway, and when she rounded it, Alyssa was shocked to see the ghostly remains of badly burned curtains.

"Damn," she cursed, "what happened here?" Erik made no reply, and as Alyssa opened her mouth to ask him again, she inhaled a breathful of dust and ash. She coughed violently as her lungs rejected it all, and Erik whirled around quickly in surprise. Alyssa placed one hand on his chest and leaned into him slightly as she turned her head away, and he waited patiently until she could breathe normally again.

"Are you all right?" he questioned, and she nodded, swallowing thickly and looking up at him. His eyes delved deeply into her own, speeding up her heart rate considerably as she stared back, and for one crazy moment she was certain that she was going to kiss him. At the last second, she shook herself, banishing all romantic thoughts to the back of her mind, and stepped away. Erik looked in the opposite direction, his face entirely unreadable, then he turned back to her and motioned for her to walk ahead.

Alyssa's gaze trailed up the walls and to the high dome ceiling above, and she whistled softly. "Damn, that's a kick-ass ceiling," she muttered to herself, and Erik smiled at her, by now familiar with the term she used.

"I'm not sure I would use those exact words, but yes, it's a beautiful piece of architecture. I love the acoustics myself. You know..." He leaned close to her ear and gestured to the dome. "...anything you say up there will echo..." He swept his arms in front of him. "...around this entire room."

A quiet, breathy laugh passed Alyssa's lips. "Seriously? Cool." She strode to center stage and marveled at the size of the building. "It's _almost _as big as the dining hall at my grandmother's."

Erik let out an amused sigh, mildly surprised. "You're not serious."

"Duh, course not. Just wondered how you'd react." Alyssa nudged him playfully with her shoulder, and he grasped her wrist and twirled her in a circle.

_"Sing once again with me,  
__Our strange duet...  
__My power over you  
__Grows stronger yet...  
__And though you turn from me  
__To glance behind,  
__The Phantom of the Opera is there...  
__Inside your mind..._" Erik sang, his voice enticing and mystifying. Alyssa smiled brightly, and turned her gaze the the vast expanse of the opera house, her eyes wandering over everything she could possibly see. She noticed, after some time, the silence ringing in her ears, and looked to see Erik staring at her once again.

"...What?" she asked softly, her features still echoing her previous grin.

"You have such a lovely voice, Alyssa," he murmured smoothly, striding toward her. "I don't know why you seem so determined to keep it a secret." She stepped back instinctively, her expression darkening quickly. "You've been reading the sheet music to the song I just sang, I know you have. I also happen to know that you've memorized the words. ...Sing."

Alyssa shook her head. "I'm not a soprano..." But her tone told Erik that she was unsure with refusing him, and he smirked to himself. _Such are the perks of having a rather hypnotic voice..._

His eyes bore into her gently, and it was clear that she was on the verge of agreeing. "Sing." It was barely a whisper, hardly a command, but Alyssa couldn't deny it. "Simply sing it in accordance with your range," Erik added when he caught the uncertainty in her eyes. "Now... _begin..."_

_"...In sleep he sang to me,  
__In dreams he came...  
__That voice which calls to me,  
__And speaks my name..."_ Alyssa sent him a hesitant glance, and he nodded encouragingly, gesturing for her to continue.

_"And do I dream again?  
__For now I find...  
__The Phantom of the Opera is there  
__Inside my mind..." _Alyssa fell silent after the last word, her breathing slightly more labored than usual. Erik gave her a half-grin and applauded softly, but she blushed and refused to meet his eyes.

Somewhat put-off by her secluded attitude, Erik cleared his throat and closed the distance between them. "There's no need to be so shy, my dear. You have a beautiful voice, so don't be afraid to let people hear it."

"Liar. You know it's nowhere near as cool as yours."

Erik laughed quietly, and finally Alyssa turned to face him. "It's beautiful. Trust me, I know a good voice when I hear one, and though it true that you're not much of a soprano, you're a very good alto. Why don't you like to sing in front of others?"

His words were met by a shrug of Alyssa's shoulders. "I don't know... I just don't like to sound stupid in front of crowds. It's embarrassing."

One of Erik's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch, and he swept his arm once again toward the rows and rows of empty, charred seats. "I imagine the _alarming _amount of people in here makes you nervous, _non_?" Alyssa giggled and shoved him gently, and he grinned at her, his hand coming to her waist and pulling her into a swift embrace.

- - -

"Monsieur, madame, we have arrived." Raoul turned his head and stared intently at Christine's face, watching closely for any unusual effects added to her expression. She held his hand softly as they both alighted from the carriage, and he drew his arm protectively around her as they set sights upon the Opera Populaire.

"Be back here in an hour," Raoul instructed, handing a few coins to the driver before focusing on Christine again. "Now, my dear... are you sure you want to go... inside?" His wife nodded, her mouth set in a determined line though she couldn't remember ever being so scared. Raoul embraced her lovingly and led her toward the doors of the opera house.

Christine's eyes took a moment to adjust to the absence of light as she looked around, and Raoul stepped casually closer to her. She knew why he'd done it, and merely took hold of his hand again. _I'm not going to leave you, _she thought, lightly meeting his lips and walking toward the giant elegant staircase.

"My god..." Raoul cursed as he gazed at the destroyed remnants of the Opera Populaire. "He... that _thing... _did all this..."

"Raoul." Christine's voice was hollow, and low. "_Please_. There's no need to show his memory any malcontent._" _Her attitude toward him had seemed to become much darker within moments, and Raoul regretted ever speaking. He sighed, and was about to turn and leave, when something very unexpected happened.

- - -

"Well, then, if you have the energy to be so smug," Alyssa muttered, stepping away and brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "why don't _you_ sing something? Sing that one song... "Music of the Night"... or whatever you call it. Let's see how it sounds with the... proper acoustics."

Erik smirked, his gaze trailing around the enormous room, then he met her eyes and spoke. "My home has the proper acoustics."

Alyssa laughed and nudged him. "What's this? The master of all voices refuses to sing?"

Now it was Erik's turn to laugh. "Did I say that?" He smirked slightly, then took a deep breath. "If you insist, my dear..."

_"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation.  
__Darkness stirs and wakes imagination...  
S__ilently the senses abandon their defenses..."_

"Louder, Erik," Alyssa murmured. "They can hardly hear you in the last row." She smiled at him, and Erik rolled his eyes dramatically (in accordance to her own fashion), but he complied.

_"Slowly, gently, night unfurls it's splendor  
__Grasp it, sense it  
__Tremulous and tender  
__Turn your face away from the garish light of day  
__Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light  
__And listen to the Music of the Night..."_

_- - -_

Christine tensed instantly when she heard the song, her eyes widening to twice their normal size. _Oh god... His voice, it's still in my head! _She looked fearfully at Raoul, whose expression was almost as strange. He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, holding her head against his chest so that she couldn't search the room.

_That demon... He's still alive! _Raoul thought angrily, his eyes flying around the room, examining every shadow, every small nook. _I should never have brought Christine here! That monster wants to take her back! _Christine raised her head at last and stepped away, swiftly walking up the staircase.

"Angel of Music..." she whispered quietly, entirely unaware of what she was doing. Her pace quickened, and she could faintly hear Raoul behind her. Part of her wanted nothing more than to keep running, to find her Angel again, and her right mind screamed at her to stop, to return to Raoul. But Erik sang on, oblivious to the chaos he was causing outside the enormous room, unintentionally calling Christine closer with every note, every word, every chord.

"_Christine!"_ Raoul cried as she reached out for the handle of the gigantic door.

- - -

**Haha, another evil cliffy! Oh, about the M versus T vote I had you guys do... it pretty much broke even on both sides... but I've decided to keep it T. I'll probably write a censored and an uncensored version, and you can email me requesting the uncensored version if you want it. It makes it easier for me, just in case anyone I'm close with (coughparentscough) decides to read this... Thank you all for voting, hope you liked this chapter! And the more reviews, the faster the update...**


	21. Convincing

**Gah! Much too long without an update! Plz don't hate me, I've had to get ready for back to school-ness! —Which is in two days... :( — Anywayz, without further delay, the chapter! **

**- - - **

Erik froze suddenly, staring at the door from where he'd heard the name being called. _Wha—... Christine? _Alyssa had jumped when she heard the noise, and now stood right beside him, her face radiating utter shock. For a moment they did nothing but listen, waiting to see if they had truly heard something.

"For god's sake, _Christine!_" Alyssa gazed at Erik, eyes wider than usual in anxiety. He stared straight ahead, seemingly lost in his thoughts, and paid her no attention.

..._Christine... she's... here?_ He couldn't believe it, there was no way it could be true. _Why? _He felt a swift, uplifting sensation for a moment, then began listening intently and wondered if she would open the door.

"Oh, Raoul!" Christine cried suddenly, and Erik's heart sank. _Oh, right... her precious Vicomte is here, too. _"His voice... it's still there! In my head! Raoul... he won't leave me alone!" Erik was shocked to hear the tears in her voice, and lowered his gaze. _Christine... you regard me with such fear? _He wasn't even aware that he'd started sobbing silently, until Alyssa curiously tilted his face up and stared at him.

"What do we do?" she whispered, and she spotted the tears running down his face. "Wait... what's wrong?"

Erik ignored her question, but instead covered her mouth with a gloved hand. "Shh..." Seeing her had pushed all thoughts of disappointment and hurt to the back of his mind (temporarily), and he stared still at the door.

"No, Christine, I heard something as well. It came from the stage. Stand back, my dear." Raoul's voice carried easily to them, and Alyssa tensed, meeting Erik's gaze worriedly.

"What do we do?" she asked again, so quietly that Erik barely heard her. He knew automatically that he had to get away, as soon as he could, but wasn't sure how he could get himself _and _Alyssa both away in time.

He hesitated a moment, but then pulled Alyssa to the side of the stage and made her look at him. "I know who those people are, Alyssa. There's not time to explain now, but I have to get away. And... I need to ask you something." Alyssa nodded, and all of the sudden Erik was extremely unsure of his decision. "...I... I need you to distract them for me. They heard me, I'm sure of it, and I need you to convince them that I'm dead. It could be dangerous for them to know that I'm alive."

For a moment, Erik was sure that Alyssa wouldn't do as he asked, but she merely nodded. "Okay. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Just go." Erik gave her a slightly quizzical look, wondering why she was agreeing with him so quickly, but she pushed him further toward the door. "Dammit, you said it could dangerous, so just go!" she hissed, and he left silently through the door.

Alyssa turned and sprinted down the small flight of stairs off the side of the stage, her thoughts racing. _How am I going to distract them? _she wondered. _Damn, damn, damn! _She reached the door at the back of the room just as it opened toward her, and the force of it knocked her a few steps backward.

"Shit!" she cursed, and Raoul stumbled through the doorway. He looked at her quickly, his eyes widening in surprise at both hearing her curse and simply seeing her there, and she straightened up. Her face was the image of pure shock as she stared at him, her mind searching for things to say but finding nothing.

"...Mademoiselle... are... you all right? What are you doing here?" Raoul asked, eyeing her curiously. Alyssa instantly recovered and scoffed at him, her hand on her hip and her mouth in a scowl.

"What am _I _doing here? Dude, what the hell are _you _doing here? Don't you know this is private property?"

Raoul blinked once, utterly confused, and took a step toward her. "This is the Opera Populaire, mademoiselle. It belongs to Messiuers Andre and Firmin, unless I am quite mistaken."

_...Shit. Yeah, not expecting that. _Alyssa narrowed her eyes at him, desperately trying to come up with something to say. _Dammit, I should've paid more attention in those Improv classes!_ _I could go all gangster or something on them... but then again, I don't want them carting me off to an institution or something. ...Well, I guess Erik seemed pretty freaked when I acted like my normal self before he got to know me. Maybe pretty-boy here will do the same..._

"Obviously, you _are _mistaken. Now, I want to know right now why you're here. That is, unless you want me to get, like, a thousand cops on your ass." Just as she had hoped, Raoul looked rather confused and taken aback. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, Christine appeared in the doorway.

"...Raoul? Is everything all right? I heard a..." Her voice died off as her gaze landed on Alyssa. She paused for a moment, then smiled slightly —though Alyssa could tell that she truly had no idea of what was going on— and hesitantly extended her hand. "Oh! ...I didn't know there was... Hello. I'm Christine... de Chagny."

Alyssa was sorely tempted to shoot off a smart remark at her, she seemed to vulnerable to verbal abuse. But being the semi-compassionate person that she was, she found that she couldn't do it. "Wassup?" she greeted instead, moving Christine's hand upright and gently slapping it in her usual "high five" way.

Christine exchanged a curious glance with Raoul, and lowered her hand. "Um... and you are...?"

_Damn. _Alyssa had completely forgotten to come up with another name. Considering what Erik had said, about it being possibly dangerous, she didn't want to tell them her real name (though, in all sense, it would have mattered little), but for the life of her, she couldn't come up with another one. After a few seconds of thinking, a name suddenly came to the front of her mind, and Alyssa said it without hesitation.

"Paris," she murmured quickly, tilting her head a few degrees to the side. "Paris... Hilton."

The couple before her glanced at one another again, seemingly more confused than ever. "Your... your name... is Paris?" Raoul managed, brow furrowed heavily. "Is that... even a name?"

"Oh _hell_ no, I know you ain't dissing my name," Alyssa's hand had returned to her hip, and she raised one eyebrow at Raoul. "What's the matter, pretty-boy? Paris ain't good enough for you or something? Well, you don't hear me ragging on that little mullet you got there." Okay, so she was overdoing it just a _little _bit, but in Alyssa's mind, it was _so _worth it.

The expression on Raoul's face was priceless, and she was by now containing laughter with every syllable she spoke. "My... what?" he asked, looking more lost than ever.

"You heard me. Now, if you two wouldn't mind getting your asses the hell out of here, I'd be—" She cut herself off suddenly as she stared at Christine, her face slowly softening and her brow furrowing in thought.

_Wow... I suddenly feel like... I've seen her before. But... where? She looks _so_ familiar... _Alyssa pondered it for a moment, knowing how insane she looked to Raoul and Christine, but hardly caring. For the most inexplicable reason, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she'd seen Christine somewhere before.

All of the sudden, it hit her. "Oh my god!" she cried. "The mannequin! You're the... the... oh my god! Wha... how do you...? Oh my god!" Alyssa took a few steps backward, her mouth agape in disbelief. She clutched her throat with one hand, feeling unexplainably distressed and horrified. _So that... that mannequin... it's of a real person? Of her? Why... how did he know her? Why would he keep a figure of her? Oh god... _Tears sprang to her eyes, unexpected and unbidden, and she barely kept from letting out a choked sob.

Raoul glanced at Christine, then moved forward and gently placed his hands on Alyssa's shoulders. "Mademoiselle, do you need us to take you somewhere? To... get medical attention, perhaps?" Alyssa let her gaze trail up his coat and rest upon his face, and she shook her head.

Quickly regaining her composure and her coming to her senses, Alyssa pushed him away. "Don't touch me, pervert. Just take your chick there and get out." _I can't let my emotions get in the way of getting these freaks out of here. _Raoul gave her a quizzical look, then reached out and grasped her wrist tightly.

"Mademoiselle... we have some questions for you," he muttered, his stare suddenly hard and his voice harder. He held on despite Alyssa's protests, and ignored the fact that Christine was watching. "Who was that singing on the stage just before we came in?"

"Dude, get the fuck off me!" Alyssa grunted, twisting her arm to try and break his grip. When at last he let her go, she stepped away. "And there wasn't anyone singing. Do you see anyone here besides me?"

Christine lowered her eyes, her fingers entwined in front of her. "There was no one singing?" she breathed, her face turning pale. _Then his voice _is _truly in my mind still... _She reached out and touched Raoul's shoulder before anyone could say anything else, and he turned to her. Everyone was silent as she murmured, "Raoul... I want to go. Please, we... we shouldn't have come."

"There," Alyssa spoke, a smirk appearing on her face. "At least one of you has some sense." With that, she gently ushered Christine out the door, not acknowledging her reactions, and Raoul grudgingly followed, his face unreadable. Once they both stood in the main hall, Alyssa saluted them with two fingers. "_Adiós, _pretty-boy." She nodded to Christine. "_Señorita._" The Spanish slid off her tongue like water, but she gave it a sour, poison-like tone, and without another word closed the doors behind them.

- - -

Once there was a barrier between her and them, Alyssa sighed and collapsed to the floor. _Damn. _She moaned and covered her eyes with her hands, exhausted and not looking forward to making the journey back home alone. _Well... at least I got them out of here. And they _seemed _to believe that Erik was dead... I guess. I hope._

The unexpected sound of the rustling of a cloak made her raise her head. "Erik?" He smiled as he looked down at her, and noiselessly he extended his hand, his fingers unfurling in a silent invitation. Alyssa smiled and took it, letting him help her get to her feet. "Well," she spoke, "I would say that was a success, wouldn't you?"

Erik grinned and nodded. "I would imagine so, Mademoiselle _Hilton_." His tone was more than a little playful, and Alyssa groaned again and nudged him.

"Oh, come on! I saved your ass, the least you could do is not tease me about the identity I chose! And for your information, Paris _is_ a real name. She's a big celebrity back in my time."

"Mmhmm. Whatever you say, Alyssa." She stuck her tongue out at him, but he merely gave her a small shove and a rather attractive smirk. Alyssa paused for a moment, lost subconsciously in that insignificant upturning of his lips, then she surprised him by jumping and throwing her arms around his neck.

"You know what, Erik?" she mused playfully. "You can be such a dick sometimes." He turned his head to face hers, giving her a curious look, but Alyssa merely laughed and stepped back. "But most of the time you can be pretty cool." She sat down on the top of a charred seat, seemingly thinking for a second. Suddenly she stood up again, a frivolous gleam in her eyes. "But I bet I can beat you home!" Erik blinked once, a bit confused, and she took that moment to start sprinting down the center aisle.

Alyssa's laughter rang in Erik's ears as he ran after her, quickly coming within reaching distance of her in moments. He longed to grab her and pull her close, wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly in his embrace, but he had to content himself with dashing past her and listening to her small cry of protest.

- - -

**So Christine's insane, Raoul's pissed, and Alyssa and Erik are acting fluffy... Hmm... to be honest, this was a hard chapter to write. And I'm pretty insecure about it. Reviews, plz? Flames, critisism, or compliments, don't matter to me. See ya in the next chapter!**


	22. Authors Note

**Author's Note:**

Hello readers... provided that any are still interested in what I have to say...

I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, I feel absolutely horrible for leaving like this. A lot of stuff has been going on in my life, and unfortunately I haven't had the time to read or write fanfictions, or indeed, hardly anything at all. But this story isn't over, and I'm going to really try to set some time aside to write more of it. I reread what I wrote a long time ago, and decided that the ending needed to be changed, so I spent a few days brainstorming and now I think I've got it. I can't promise super fact updates, but I can promise that I'll be as quick with them as I can. To anyone reading this, thank you for your time and patience, and I'm super sorry for being such a scummy Authoress...

Phantomess785


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